EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a roundup of the day’s main news – plus any bits and pieces you may have missed…

On TDs’ expenses:

• Taoiseach Enda Kenny and no fewer than seven of his ministers are among 66 TDs who do not vouch for their parliamentary expenses – meaning they do not have to provide any justification for how they spend their allowances.
• And just a reminder that earlier today we broke down the amount received by every TD. How much did yours claim?

In the day’s other news:

• “Skewed values” and “purely material considerations” during the Celtic Tiger years were to blame for the economic collapse, President Michael D Higgins has said this evening.
• Teenager John Stokes has lost his High Court battle to attend his local secondary school. The boy and his mother, who are Travellers, had fought to overturn the practice of giving priority to the children of past pupils.
• Justice Minister Alan Shatter has criticised Billy Kelleher for failing to turn up to a Dáil debate today – after the Fianna Fáil TD had earlier slated the practice of Friday sittings. Kelleher told TheJournal.ie there were “very few ministers” in Leinster House on a Friday.
• A rise in sexual activity among older people has led to the number of sexually transmitted infections among 50 to 90-year-olds doubling in the past decade.
• Meanwhile, alcohol consumption in Ireland has fallen significantly over the same period.

Making the most of the cold: Uighur people load blocks of ice onto a truck in Xinjiang, China. The blocks will be stored in the icehouses of local families and used to keep vegetables fresh and make traditional cold drinks in the summertime (Photo by Li Zhigang/ChinaFotoPress)

• Ryanair has leapt to announce a new hub in Budapest – less than seven hours after Hungarian flag-carrier airline Malev ceased trading, stranding 100 people in Dublin alone.
• Dublin Bus has announced increases to its prepaid ticket prices, just weeks after a large rise in cash fares.
• It’s Friday! So here’s a slideshow of chimpanzees eating, drinking, getting presents and, er, wielding fire extinguishers.
• A large fire caused parts of Camden Street in central Dublin to be closed off today. We’ve got video of the dramatic top-floor blaze.
• Young graffiti artist David Choe agreed to accept payment in stock for decorating the HQ of a then-unknown company in California. That company was Facebook – and that stock is now worth $200million.
• It’s also emerged today that the average Facebook user gets more ‘likes’ than they give out. You’re a stingy bunch.
• And 85 per cent of TDs are now on Twitter, with Fine Gael deputies leading the pack.
• Meanwhile: what music do the kids get down to in North Korea? Well if this video is anything to go by, it’s 1980s pop classics. On the accordion. Is it just us, or is this a little bit wonderful?

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More