Good morning.It’s the last week of the Dáil term, with the House due to rise for the summer recess on Thursday. That won’t quite be the beginning for the summer holidays – the Cabinet will have at least two more meetings after today and there is all that EU business to attend to.In the constituencies, the grind of dealing with requests and representations, the endless meetings, the getting out and about and being seen to be out and about – that never ends. A few weeks off in August, and that’s it. Still everyone – not least the poor political correspondents – will be glad when the Ceann Comhairle adjourns the Dáil on Thursday evening. Busy week to go before that, though. Back-to-school costsThe cost of living remains the political issue most cited by voters and today we report on a survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions on back-to-school costs for parents. That will be an autumn political issue, especially as increases in the price of fuel due to the Government’s gradual withdrawal of the excise cut kick in from the start of September. And with renewed uncertainty in the Gulf (as our lead story reports today) the prospect of much sharper rises in fuel costs is real. If that happens, it will transform the entire pre-budget atmosphere, and therefore the package itself.Relations between McDonald and Martin sourAll that is likely to inform exchanges between the Taoiseach and the Leader of the Opposition today. Sinn Féin has said Mary Lou McDonald won’t be withdrawing or apologising for calling Micheál Martin “a tosser” last week, a remark missed by many in the chamber but not the sharp-earned Dáil reporters who compile the official record of the House. A quick perusal of the Salient Rulings of the Chair reveals that “tosser” is not on the list of banned insults. Relations between McDonald and Martin – never great, to be honest – appear to have deteriorated in recent months. The pair give every appearance of cordially loathing one another. Miscarriage leaveScorchio continues: hot weather will last into next week and a hosepipe ban is coming in later this week. So, they’ll have the windows open in the Cabinet room in Government Buildings this morning as they rattle through the agenda. Here’s a preview of it. Among the items for Ministers to consider is a proposed new law to give up to five days paid leave to women who suffer miscarriages before 23 weeks.Ministers are expected to approve the general scheme or “heads” – outlining its main provisions – of the proposed legislation, which has been widely flagged in recent weeks. The proposed legislation will be brought by Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke.The planned law will give women who have experienced pregnancy loss an entitlement of five days sick leave once their doctor has certified the loss. It will include situations where women have had abortions, as long as the end of the pregnancy has been certified by their doctor. The cost of the sick leave will be borne by employers, and the total annual cost is estimated at about €10 million.Major reassurance for a Government worrying about the future of corporation tax revenues came when chips giant Intel announced it would invest €5 billion in its Irish operations, creating hundreds of high-tech jobs at its Leixlip campus. It puts Ireland at the forefront of the company’s advanced manufacturing capabilities as the company latches on to demand for next-generation chips to power artificial intelligence. Best readsFintan O’Toole on the warpath against politicians who shrug their shoulders at child povertyIt’s an EU go-slow on action against Israel Keith Duggan on the late US senator Lindsay Graham, who went from Trump opponent to suck-up Hugh Linehan on how much RTÉ is too much RTÉ PlaybookThe Cabinet is meeting at Government Buildings this morning and Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil at 2pm. Once the Order of Business is concluded there’ll be a Government apology followed by statements on the publication of the report of the South East Commission of Investigation. The commission found there was a serious dereliction of duty by senior Garda officers when they learned that Fianna Fáil supporter Bill Kenneally sexually abused a boy in the late 1980s. He was a prolific abuser of young boys and died in prison earlier this year after being jailed in 2016. Sinn Féin has a Private Members’ motion on protecting artists from AI.The Seanad will dispose of three pieces of Government legislation, while at the committees there are several delegations in for discussions. They include a discussion on scrambler bikes and public safety at the Justice Committee and what could be an interesting appearance by public expenditure officials at the Budgetary Oversight Committee. All the details are here.And, of course, it’s Bastille Day today, the French national holiday, so politicians will be flocking to the ambassador’s modest residence on Ailesbury Road for the annual celebration. Will the party be finished by 8pm, though, when France play Spain in the World Cup semi-final?