EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #HOUSING MARKET: A drop in the number of available homes for sale and a sharp increase in house prices outside Dublin – this is the state of the housing market at the start of 2017.

2. #HEALTH: The number of people with the flu doubled during December.

3. #PULSE: With around 167 Garda stations not having access to the Pulse computer system, members of the force have said it is a “crazy system and not fit for purpose“.

4.#NORTH: Sinn Féin has warned that power sharing in the north is at an “unprecedented tipping point” as it reiterated calls for First Minister Arlene Foster to resign.

5. #MISSING: Gardaí in Cork are seeking help to find a 14-year-old girl, who went missing from her home in the city.

6. #LITTER: Litter levels are increasing across the country due to people “deliberately and covertly evading bin charges” according to a new survey.

7. #FIRST-TIME BUYERS: The help-to-buy scheme announced in last year’s Budget opens for applications from this morning.

8. #EXPATS: Ireland is more attractive to expat workers than it was last year – but it’s still behind 26 other countries according to a new survey.

9. #VETERAN: An army veteran from Achill Island who lost a leg in Afghanistan is aiming to be the first amputee to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.