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GOOD EVENING
The 5 at 5
5 minutes, 5 stories, 5 o’clock…
EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five stories you need to know before you head out the door.
1. #TRANSPORT Public transport fares are to increase over the coming weeks, after the National Transport Authority sanctioned increases for Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Irish rail and the Luas. The changes will be taking effect from December 1 in most cases, though Bus Éireann has yet to confirm when its price hikes kick in.
2. #NEW ARRIVALS Ireland’s birth rate fell in 2010 for the first time in five years, but the total number of births is still the second-highest figure recorded since the turn of the 20th century. CSO figures show that 75,174 children were born in Ireland in 2010.
3. #PLANNING An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for a new 23-storey Liberty Hall, saying it would be “unacceptably dominant in the city”, as well as “visually intrusive in the streetscape and riverscape”. SIPTU has said it is disappointed with the refusal, while An Taisce is calling for an independent planning regulator to investigate the decision to award the permission in the first place.
4. #ATTACK Firemen were attacked while fighting house fires in Limerick on Wednesday night. A group of youths threw rocks at firefighters, and two workers were injured, while the windscreen of a fire engine was broken by a large rock. Limerick City Council’s chief fire officer said the attack was “shocking and disgraceful”.
5. #CONFLICT Eamon Gilmore has called for an end to violence in southern Israel and Gaza, saying that “the risks from an escalation of violence on either side are all too apparent”. Earlier today, Israel agreed to suspend its offensive in the Gaza Strip while Egyptian Prime Minister Hiham Qandil visited Gaza.
