Good morning! Here are nine things you should know as you start your day…
1. #TRAGIC A man has died following an incident involving a waste disposal truck in Dublin city last night. It is understood the man was working in the Grand Canal Street area of Dublin when he got into difficulty and became trapped in the back of the truck. Emergency equipment was used to release the man, who was brought to hospital but later died.
2. #APRIL JONES The search continues for missing five-year-old April Jones, with police in Wales being given an extra 12 hours to question Mark Bridger about the incident. Bridger has already been interviewed twice since April disappeared. Police confirmed that April suffers from cerebral palsy, with her godmother saying she needs medication for her health problems.
3. #JUNIOR CERT Proposed changes to the Junior Certificate exam will be released today, the Irish Times reports. They could include the scrapping of the formal State exam, which will be replaced by continuous assessment by teachers. There may also be standardised tests, including one for science, and short courses as well as traditional subjects. The first students to go through the new system would do so in 2017.
4. #COURT The widow of Terence Madden is seeking damages over his murder. Terence Madden was shot 13 years ago and his wife Margaret Madden is suing the men involved in the ambush which led to his death, the Irish Times reports. It is believed to be the first such case of its type. The court will rule on this case next Tuesday.
5. #JOBS The Departments of Jobs has defended its underspending, saying that its performance must relate to services delivered and not money spent. The rate of joblessness in Ireland has stayed at 14.8 per cent. Sinn Féin’s Peadar Tóibín described the underspend of €69 million as “astounding”, but the Department told TheJournal.ie that it adopts a “careful and prudent approach” to spending taxpayers’ money.
6. #INQUEST The boyfriend of murdered Rudo Mawere admitted to murder before he took his own life, the Examiner reports today. An inquest heard that Jason Dube wrote a suicide note which was found by Kent Police near his body. Ms Mawere’s body was found on 29 January this year in Dublin. The jury’s verdict was unlawful killing.
7. #MENTAL HEALTH Almost four-fifths of transgender people in Ireland have admitted to thinking of taking their own lives. A survey commissioned by the Transgender Equality Network showed that 40 per cent of respondents had attempted suicide. TENI director Broden Giambrone said these “disturbing” figures illustrated the need for increased awareness of the difficulties trans people face.
8. #PRIMARY CARE The Government’s claim that a site for a proposed primary care centre in Balbriggan was chosen by former Health Minister Mary Harney is “wrong”, the Irish Independent says. The paper says that the site was selected and a lease was signed after the current Health Minister Dr James Reilly took office. Two Labour MEPs, Nessa Childers and Phil Prendergast, have called for Minister Reilly to resign from his role.
9. #US 2012 US president Barack Obama and his election opponent Mitt Romney met last night for the first of three debates. It took place in the University of Denver in Colorado. CNN viewers voted on the debate – and 67 per cent of them said that Romney had come out on top. Watch the whole thing here.
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