Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you really need to know.
1. #BUDGET11: Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan will announce the next Budget in the Dáil this afternoon, with cuts to child benefit, the minimum wage and social welfare payments anticipated. We’ll be liveblogging the event and bringing you Twitter updates throughout the evening.
2. #BIG FREEZE: Pedestrians and road users are advised to take care again today as the cold weather continues. Fresh snowfall in certain parts of the country means some areas have more compacted ice and snow on the roads, and black ice persists in parts. Today is going to be another cold one: Met Éireann says highest temperatures will be between -1 and +3.
3. #ATTENDANCE: Ex-Fianna Fáil ministers Jim McDaid and Willie O’Dea have the worst Dáil attendance record, according to recently released figures reported in the Irish Times. McDaid wins the worst attendance award, having missed 23 of 59 sitting days.
4. #WIKILEAKS: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to appear in court in the UK today after his lawyers agreed he would meet police to discuss a European arrest warrant made against him regarding alleged sexual assaults, according to the Guardian. Yesterday, a Swiss bank froze Assange’s bank account, saying he had falsely claimed he lived in Switzerland.
5. #GREECE: Students and police clashed in Athens yesterday during protests to mark the anniversary of the death of a teenager who had been shot dead by police. Most demonstrators marched peacefully to protest against austerity measures, according to the AFP.
6. ARREARS: Under a new mortgage arrears code which comes into force next month, banks will not be able to impose penalties on mortgage customers who are in arrears or force them to switch from tracker mortgages, the Irish Times reports.
7. #CRIME: Gardaí have recovered a machine gun and ammunition near Ashbourne, Co Meath, during an investigation into organised crime.
8. #ALIENS: An Asian ladybird not native to Ireland has appeared at two locations in Ireland and now threatens the country’s “unique biodiversity”, according to the Irish Times.
9. #OOH AHH: Former footballer Eric Cantona is calling on his fellow Frenchmen to bring down France’s banking system by withdrawing their money from French accounts today. The Telegraph reports that while he is unlikely to achieve his goal, panic can cause huge damage to banks.
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