HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us at TheJournal.ie! Here’s today’s 9 at 9 to get you up to speed on the news before you even get out of bed.
1. #NEW YEAR 2012 was rung in by people around Ireland in style this morning, with thousands gathering in the capital city for the first ever three-day New Year Festival. It took place at Dublin’s College Green and included performances by Paul Brady and Damien Dempsey. Asia and Australia got there before us of course, celebrating the new year with a riot of colour.
2. #COALITION The Government coalition is experiencing some unrest as Health Minister Dr James Reilly and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton are allegedly clashing, the Sunday Independent states today. The paper says that the situation is expected to get worse as the austerity measures for 2012 kick in. Meanwhile, the Sunday Business Post says that a row is looming between Burton and Minister Richard Bruton over employee sick pay, as it alleges Bruton feels Burton’s plans to cut State contribution to employee sick pay will cost jobs.
3. #BANKS Banks are to get tougher on tracker mortgages, the Sunday Business Post says today on its front page. It says that banks are “preparing to move” against people who hold tracker mortgages and have moved out of their homes in order to rent them, as the small print on some contracts says these tracker rates can only apply when the home is the customer’s principal dwelling.
4. #IMPLANTS The Health Secretary of the UK, Andrew Landsley, has announced a review of the dangers posed by faulty French breast implants. This follows new information that suggests that more than 3,000 women in the UK could face complications due to faulty implants, which Lansley said left him worried, The Guardian reports today. In today’s Sunday Business Post, Susan Mitchell writes that Irish women who have the implants made by Ply Implant Prothse may have “little legal recourse”, according to one expert.
5. #JAPAN An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 has struck off the coast of Japan. Associated Press reports that it struck under the sea several hundred kilometres south of Japan today, shaking buildings in Tokyo. However, officials said there was no danger of a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
6. #BUDGET 2012 The VAT increase was one of the Budget 2012 measures that came into affect at midnight, rising from 21 to 23 per cent. RTÉ reports that Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesperson Michael McGrath described it as a “major policy mistake” by the Government. Also kicking in today are increases in the Drug Payment Scheme threshold (from €120 a month to €132 a month), fares for Dublin Bus and the Luas, motor tax and toll charges, and the cost of private health insurance. Also increasing will be the third level registration fees, by €250.
7. #EURO The Euro currency celebrates 10 years in existence this year. 2011 was certainly its annus horribilis, and there are growing fears for its stability. Even as 25 of the EU countries (not just those in the eurozone) are preparing to sign up to a new fiscal agreement this coming year, the euro recorded a record low against the yen and was almost at its weakest in an entire year against the dollar. We look back at the currency - with pictures of its launch in Ireland.
8. #COLLISION A 22-year-old man has died in Virginia, Co Cavan, after being fatally injured when his car left the N3 and collided with a wall. Sadly, this is the first reported road death in Ireland in 2012. The Road Safety Authority says today that road deaths have fallen for the sixth consecutive year in Ireland, falling below 200 for the first time since 1959, when they were first recorded.
9. #CHILDREN The Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, wants to crack down on ‘sexy’ kidswear, today’s Sunday Times reports. It says that Fitzgerald wants to introduce a code of conduct to prevent retailers from selling “provocative” clothing and accessories such as padded bras and items with suggestive slogans to young children.
After a cloudy start, sunshine returns
Max: 21 °C
Min: 10 °C
Partly sunny
Max: 18 °C
Min: 9 °C
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