Clare Daly has denied being responsible for a waste of Garda resources - after Gardaí escorted her and Mick Wallace were escorted to Limerick Prison for just a few hours.

But the Minister for Justice says the TDs have a higher obligation to uphold the law and not to break it.

Meanwhile Joan Burton says the 2,000 euro fines the TDs are refusing to pay should be taken from their wages instead.

The case has also highlighted some of the difficulties with Ireland's justice system - where people who refuse to pay fines are regularly jailed for only a few hours, while also using Garda and prison resources.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News: