LAST UPDATE | 5 Apr

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.

Factcheck

1. Ireland’s rental market is never far away from the headlines, with no shortage of stories or statistics highlighting the difficulties faced by renters.

One claim that sought to paint a picture of this recently was the suggestion by the Labour Party that Ireland is now experiencing evictions at a rate not seen since the Great Famine – but is that true?

Middle East

2. A US service member who has been missing since Iran shot down a fighter jet has been rescued, Donald Trump said.

In a post on Truth Social, the US President said the service member is injured but “will be just fine” and that the US had been monitoring his location.

Minimum wage

3. Ireland has increased its minimum wage year after year for the last decade.

During that time, plenty of business groups have warned that the move could lead to job losses, but Paul O’Donoghue points out that the evidence says otherwise.

The Rising

4. A ceremony to mark the 110th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising is taking place outside the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street today.

The ceremony, starting at midday, will be led by President Catherine Connolly, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the Minister for Defence Helen McEntee.

Kerry Babies

5. An investigation file into the death of a newborn baby boy in Co Kerry in 1984 has been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Named by the local undertaker as Baby John, the infant was discovered on the beach at White Strand, Caherciveen on 14 April 1984. The baby had 28 stab woun

Cuba

6. Irish band Kneecap recently travelled to Cuba, joining the Nuestra América convo, on “human grounds”.

But journalist Hannah McCarthy, who also travelled to Cuba, writes that Irish solidarity with the Cuban people does not need to involve ‘greenwashing’ the Cuban government.

Moon journey

7. Artemis 2 astronauts heading to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years are currently more than 160,930 kilometres from Earth and in “good spirits”, according to Nasa officials.

Fuel crisis

8. Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald has written to the Taoiseach and the Ceann Comhairle seeking the recall of the Dáil next week to address the fuel crisis.

The Dáil is currently on holiday for a two-week Easter break, but McDonald said the government can’t “put its head in the sand” and abandon the public.

Road deaths

9. A woman in her 80s died in hospital after she was hit by a bus in Blackrock last week.

The collision occurred on Wednesday 25 March. The woman was out walking when she was struck at the junction of Main Street and Bath Place. She was brought to hospital but passed away on Friday.