LAST UPDATE | 4 Feb

GOOD MORNING.

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

Foxhunting

1. The Dáil’s decision to block legislation banning fox hunting with dogs has damaged public confidence in politics, according to a new poll.

Road safety

2. The government plans to make it mandatory for users of e-bikes and e-scooters to wear helmets and high-visibility clothing. 

Weather forecast

3. “Significant” outbreaks of rain forecast from tonight will be heaviest in areas that have already been impacted by heavy rainfall and flooding, according to Met Éireann. 

Justice system

4. Irish court proceedings take three times longer than the Council of Europe average, according to a new report by the Law Society of Ireland.

Stormont

5. President Catherine Connolly will fulfil one of her election commitments today as she embarks on a three-day visit to Northern Ireland. 

Media committee

6. Tech firm X, owned by Elon Musk, is to snub the Oireachtas Media Committee today, despite facing calls for the company to answer questions on the Grok AI-generated non-consensual images controversy. 

Epstein Files

7. United States president Donald Trump has made a fresh plea for Americans to move on from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal after it left former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson facing a criminal probe.

House of Lords

8. Mandelson will quit the House of Lords today after a criminal investigation was launched against him following allegations he passed confidential information to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Chios

9. A Greek coastguard vessel and a boat carrying refugees collided in the Aegean Sea Tuesday, killing 15 people, police said.