EACH WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you should know before you head out the door.
1. #WALLACE: It hasn’t been a good day for Mick Wallace. After the Ceann Comhairle refused to give him permission to make a personal explanation on his tax affairs to the Dáil tomorrow, the Wexford TD agreed to ‘step back voluntarily’ from the Technical Group after colleagues requested him to do so.
2. #ROADS: Proposed changes to the penalty points system, announced by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar today, will mean increased sanctions for those caught speeding or using handheld phones while driving. Those offences – as well as failing to wear a seat belt – could see motorists slapped with three points instead of two.
3. #EUROZONE: Cyprus looks set to become the fifth eurozone country to require outside financial assistance, joining other programme nations Ireland, Portugal, Greece and the newest member Spain. Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly has said that a bailout could be needed by the end of June after revealing the situation is ‘urgent’.
4. #EURO2012: As more than 2 million people tuned into Ireland’s opening Euro 2012 clash against Croatia last night, the electricity consumption dropped by about 3 per cent. During half-time, as people made their way to the fridge and the kettle, demand rose again by about 60 megawatts.
RTÉ has revealed that 1.235 million people watched the entire two-and-a-half hours of coverage of the game, making it the most-watched programme of the year so far and the most watched match since 1994.
5. #TWISTER: Ireland is getting used to some bizarre weather at the moment but tornadoes? TheJournal.ie was sent footage of a what appears to be a twister hitting Buncrana in Donegal just before noon today.
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