EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #POSTMORTEM: Post-mortem examinations will be carried out today on the bodies of two brothers-in-law who were found on neighbouring farms in Co Carlow yesterday. Searches are also expected to be carried out on the farms.
2. #ROADS: A 48-year-old pedestrian has been killed after being hit by a car in Co Louth. The man was on the N2 between Ardee and Carrickmacross when he was struck. Traffic diversions are in place.
3. #UNEMPLOYMENT: The government will today unveil its ‘Pathways to Work’ initiative which aims to make it easier for unemployed people to get back to work. The scheme will also mean claimants could be docked benefits if they don’t take up a job or education offer.
4. #NAMA: Over a quarter of the developers who are now directly under NAMA management have moved their assets to other family members in a bid to stop them from being repossessed, it has emerged. Department of Finance figures show that in 31 cases, transfers have been reversed, while the agency has identified another 17 cases where it’s looking to get assets moved back.
5. #RTÉ: The communications minister Pat Rabbitte will today tell the board of RTÉ that the broadcaster cannot continue to run a deficit. Rabbitte is expected to tell the board that its priority should be to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
6. #SYRIA: The United Nations is to send one of its top humanitarian officials to Syria to assess the situation there, as the country teeters on the brink of all-out civil war. Relief chief Valerie Amos will examine the situation in the country, which aid agencies have been blocked from entering.
7. #AUSTRALIA: Prime minister Julia Gillard has called for a vote on her leadership of Australia’s ruling Labor party, a day after the foreign minister – and her predecessor – Kevin Rudd quit the cabinet in protest at her performance. Gillard only took power after ousting Rudd in June 2010, and Rudd – who is popular nationally, but despised within the party – may now seek to return the favour.
8. #PETTY CRIME: A new online archive, being launched today, will allow people to search court records of petty crimes from the 19th and early 20th centuries – and possibly allow them to trace their ancestors. The Petty Sessions Order Books, uploaded at findmypast.ie, contain details of crimes such as ‘malicious injury to a bicycle’.
9. #ONE YEAR ON: Former Green Party TD Paul Gogarty has not ruled out a return to politics – and says he could run for Fianna Fáil in future. In an interview to mark a year since the general election, Gogarty also ruled out the prospect of any musical duets with former Green colleague Dan Boyle.
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