LAST UPDATE | 20 Aug 2023
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. In our lead story this morning, Lauren Boland searches through decades-old files which demonstrate the lengths the State went to in order to try to preserve its criminal ban on homosexuality in the 1980s.
This included wanting to use AIDS crisis to defend Ireland’s ban on same-sex relationships.
Acting on the legal advice, then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Peter Barry brought a memo to a Cabinet meeting asking the Government to authorise the legal team to raise AIDS in its defence – but he was overruled by Attorney General John Rogers, Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan O’Donnell, and the Departments of Health and Justice.
2. A Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv which killed seven people and wounded 148 has been denounced by the UN as a “heinous” attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the dead included “a girl, her name was Sofia, she was six years old”, and that there were 15 children among the wounded.
“Our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack — a tangible answer,” he vowed.
3. A man in his 20s has died and two more men injured following a crash involving two electric scooters and a car in Co Louth.
Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of the fatal road traffic collision on the Armagh Road, Dundalk late last night.
The road is currently closed for an examination to be carried out by specialist Garda forensic collision investigators.
4. Ireland-based tech firms are increasingly using ‘employer of record’ (EOR) companies in other countries to hire staff abroad, rather than moving them here due to the struggle of sourcing housing, according to a senior employment lawyer.
These third-party companies, which technically act as the worker’s legal employer, allow firms based here to contract staff who they can’t convince to relocate to Ireland.
By paying for the services of these third-party companies, big tech firms based in Ireland can also avoid their profits being directly subject to corporation tax in different countries by being deemed to have set up offices in various locations because of employee numbers working there.
5. A 14-month delay in issuing a final planning decision on the first phase of a 1,000 home development in Meath has been branded as “a joke”.
An Bord Pleanála (ABP), which was due to make a final decision on the Boyne Village project initial stage in June 2022, said it has faced ongoing delays in determining cases due to the “significant turnover of personnel at board level” over the past year.
The board has been dogged by scandal in recent months, and was thrown into chaos after allegations that Paul Hyde, the deputy chairperson of the planning authority, had not declared a conflict of interest in a planning case.
7. If we had no Donald Trump or Joe Biden for 2024 – who would the potential candidates be?
Our columnist Larry Donnelly writes that despite the expected rerun of the 2020 elections with Biden and Trump, it’s worth asking if there are any alternatives.
8. England face Spain in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney.
As outlined on The42, both squads have faced contrasting difficulties to reach this point – with the winner destined to be the first European team to become champion in 16 years.
9. Following the passing of legendary interviewer Michael Parkinson, test your knowledge of famous TV interviews.
During the hundreds of episodes of his talk show, he also interviewed stars including David Bowie, Muhammad Ali, David Beckham, John Lennon and Celine Dion.
How much do you remember about famous TV interviews conducted by Parky and others? Find out here.
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