Tomorrow’s Sunday’s Tribune claims to have explosives details on the Iris Robinson affair *or * more properly affairs.

As well as describing the incredible fury and deep sadness that the Rev Ian Paisley has felt for the damage caused to the DUP following the revelations of the week, the real shock in the piece comes when the Sunday Tribune alleges that Mrs Robinson has had more affairs in the past.

Suzanne Breen writes:

Meanwhile, it emerged this weekend that Iris Robinson also had an affair with 19 year-old Kirk McCambley’s father, a butcher who died of cancer. She had another affair with a fellow DUP member in the 1980′s which was witnessed by the security forces.

Further on in the piece:

Iris Robinson’s affair with Kirk McCambley isn’t her first. She had an affair with a fellow DUP member in the 1980.

It was witnessed by security force members voluntarily guarding the Robinsons’ home after the RUC officially withdrew protection over Peter Robinson’s  loyalist invasion into Clontibret.

For your information, the Invasion of Clontibret was took place in 1986. Shocking allegations and surely not the end!

Update: Peter Robinson steps aside as First Minister.

Keeping the comments tight here. No speculation or allegations please!

The CSO released numbers this lunchtime showing seasonally-adjusted increase of 3,300 people on Live Register in December over November. The year-on-year increase in the Live Register is now just over 133,000 people.

The Live Register now stands at 426,700 (seasonally-adjusted).

Breaking down the numbers a little more, we see the following month-on-month moves:

• Increase of 6,761 male versus 3,329 female claimants
• There was 7,425 new claimants for Jobseekers Allowance. This is almost fives time more than new claimants for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Willie O’Dea was on this evening’s Drivetime to address the deficit of Government response to the national cold snap. Besides, washing his hands of involvement in the salting and sanding of roads. It is a matter of local government he said, after all, unless of course, one looks up the Office of Emergency Planning – an office that lies within the remit of O’Dea and clearly points the responsibility needs to be taken up by central government.

A link from the website of the OEP leads site of the Department of Health and Children and the Framework of Major Emergency Management. The report cites that a Major Emergency needs to be called. A Major Emergency is defined as:

… any event which, usually with little or no warning, causes or threatens death or injury, serious disruption of essential services or damage to property, the environment or infrastructure beyond the normal capabilities of the principal emergency services in the area in which the event occurs, and requirest he activation of specific additional procedures and the  mobilisation of additional resources to ensure an effective, co-ordinated response.

This is in stark contrast to the National Emergency Response Committee that met for the first time earlier today to formulate a response to the worsening weather conditions. So, why has a Major Emergency not been called and not done days ago?

O’Dea also said that Government had recently become aware of the problem.  Drivetime were good enough to replay a days old weather forecast to help him out. All this despite The Big Freeze biting out national noses for over a fortnight! Hope he has his snow boots on, he’s well know for stomping the streets when he’s in Limerick!

Apologies on the blogging front. Election.ie has been a little quiet. Yoyoing between bouts of panic buying gouge-happy stuff for burning and combining the odd reminents left in my press into new meal concoctions. Hello meat stuff with goopy onion tapenade. Darina, how are ya?

On a night where the rebellion against Brown looks well and truly alive, it is interesting to see the financial disclosures of spending in European Elections by UK political parties.

The Electoral Commission released figures yesterday showing just over £9 million was spent by UK political parties for campaigning for the Euros. Some 80% of the amount was spent by the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and United Kingdom Ind Party.

Breakdown of the spending by the parties:

(Table snipped)

Over Christmas, Suzy linked to the SIPO report to the Ceann Comhairle on spending by Irish political parties for their European campaigns. Very interesting reading there!