EVERY MORNING, THEJOURNAL.IE brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #HOUSEHOLD CHARGE: The head of the Local Government Management Agency, which is in charge of administration of the household charge, has said legal action will be taken against any householder who has not paid the €100 charge within a number of months. Speaking on RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland, Paul McSweeney said the agency is reluctant to pursue legal action against people who had not paid but action would be taken after a third warning letter has been sent out.
2. #QUINNS: A daughter of businessman Seán Quinn has said that her family members have tried to the best of their ability to purge their contempt of court but have been unable to do so. Speaking on TV3′s Tonight show last night, Aoife Quinn also said that the Quinn Group had paid for personal expenses such as her digital television package but she did not know if it had paid for her wedding.
3. #ASSANGE: Ecuador has accused the UK of threatening to enter its embassy in London to arrest Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has taken refuge at the embassy and asked for political asylum. Ecuador says that it will make a decision on his request for asylum in the coming days.
4. #DISABILITIES: At least 10,000 people with disabilities – including 500 children – are living in State-funded residential facilities that are not subject to any care regulations or State inspections, the Irish Times reports. Minister Kathleen Lynch has said that draft standards have been produced which are being given “careful consideration”. The paper reports that there were more than 500 complaints about the care of people with disabilities in 2010.
5. #DAIL DAYS: Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Independent TD Michael Lowry missed one in four Dáil sitting days between January and June of this year, among the worst attendance records of any TDs in the Dáil, a report by the Irish Independent has found. Socialist Party TD Clare Daly and Fine Gael TDs Derek Keating and Peter Mathews had the best attendance records of all 166 TDs having not missed one sitting day during the six months.
6. #TRAGEDY: Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of three brothers killed in a car crash last week. Mourners attended the ceremony at a church in Killinarden in Tallaght for the three brothers, aged between 17 and 27, who died after the vehicle they were travelling in was involved in a collision in Offaly on Friday.
7. #WATER: Ten days after a contamination alert the water supply in Clontarf in north Dublin is reaching safe levels, Dublin City Council has confirmed. However residents are still being asked to boil all drinking water until further testing can be carried out. Separately a similar alert in Clonmel, Co Tipperary has been extended for another 24 hours following a possible contamination of the supply.
8. #COMMUNITY SERVICE: There has been a dramatic increase in the total number of community service orders made last year. The amount of community service hours ordered in 2011 increased from 303,210 in 2010 to 420,836 in 2011, according to the Probation Service Annual Report.
9. #NO MORE RAIN: Yesterday’s storm warning turned out to be slightly anti-climactic – although it still wasn’t exactly a pleasant day for most of Ireland – but there’s some good weather news this morning. This morning’s rain radar from Met Éireann shows almost no rain at all falling over most of Ireland this morning. Hurrah! Let’s enjoy it while it lasts…
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