EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things we think you really ought to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #UNIVERSITIES: A thorough shake-up of the CAO university admissions system could be on the way, if new proposals are carried through. The overhaul – which comes as the current points system is labelled “damaging” – could see students given matched to courses according to the particular subjects they do well in at Leaving Cert, reports Seán Flynn in the Irish Times.
2. #FINE GAEL: The second day of the parliamentary party’s annual think-in is getting under way in Galway, with TDs and Senators due to debate the upcoming presidential campaign. Speaking at the meeting, Taoiseach Enda Kenny yesterday stood over his stinging criticisms of the Vatican despite the Holy See’s angry response, reports RTÉ.
3. #ROADS: The number of people seriously injured on Irish roads is more than three times higher than estimated by the RSA, with more than 14,000 victims hospitalised over the last five years, according to a new study reported in the Irish Times. The study also reveals that road crash injuries have cost taxpayers €4.5billion since 2006.
4. #DRUMM: Gardaà have given up on attempts to question the former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm, who is living in the US. Drumm has repeatedly ignored garda requests to submit himself for interview, and cannot be extradited as criminal charges have not yet been brought, according to Tom Brady in the Irish Independent.
5. #DOCTORS: Just 60 of the 280 junior doctors recruited from India and Pakistan earlier this year have been cleared to begin work, RTÉ reports. The medics, who were recruited at considerable expense in a last-ditch bid to fill hospital vacancies, have all been living in Ireland since July but most are still waiting to be officially registered.
6. #BAILOUT: A German court is due to rule this morning on whether the country’s government broke the law when it agreed to fund a bailout for Greece. Loans received by Ireland from the EU emergency assistance fund – to which Germany is a major contributor – will also be implicated in the decision, which is due shortly after 9am.
7. #BANKS: The former chancellor of the UK, Alistair Darling, has said Ireland’s bank guarantee in September 2008 smelt of “panic”, rather than a plan. RTÉ reports that in his memoirs published today, Darling also says he was aware of disagreements between Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan.
8. #USA: US President Barack Obama is set to unveil a US$300billion ‘jobs package’ of tax cuts and government spending in a bid to drive employment and allay market fears of a double-dip recession, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. However, Republicans have labelled the plan “more of the same failed approach”.
9. #LATE LATE: Ryan Tubridy’s first Late Late Show of the new season saw ratings dive by close to 200,000 viewers against last year, despite huge publicity for singer Sinead O’Connor’s appearance. The RTÉ flagship attracted an audience of just 650,000. According to the Irish Sun, the State broadcaster said the lower-than-expected figure was due to coverage of the Ireland vs Slovakia soccer match the same evening.
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