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GOOD MORNING

The 9 at 9 Asylum seekers on Ireland’s immigration process, more evacuations expected from Mariupol and the widening wealth gap.

LAST UPDATE | May 3rd 2022, 8:51 AM

GOOD MORNING. 

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

Integration

1. Over the last year, researchers at Maynooth University have been interviewing asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland to document their first-hand experiences of what the asylum process is like.

Dr Serena Clark, who was involved in the research, described it as “a way to further understand the everyday experiences of asylum seekers and refugees as lived through the consequences of government policy”.

In this excerpt from the interviews, a range of people talk about life in Direct Provision, the immigration process, and what it’s like trying to integrate in rural Ireland.

Ukraine

2. Fighting raged in the critical port city of Odessa and across Ukraine’s east as fresh evacuations of civilians from war-ravaged Mariupol were expected today.

The United States was warning that Moscow was preparing to formally annex regions in the country’s east, while the European Union told member states to brace for a complete breakdown in Russian gas supplies as it prepared a new package sanctions.

Wealth gap

3. There has been an increase in the rich-poor gap in Ireland as a result of taxation and welfare measures adopted in Budget 2022, according to a new analysis from the think tank Social Justice Ireland.

Social Justice Ireland said its latest briefing paper shows that government policy is “not yet focused on achieving the objectives of reducing poverty and promoting social inclusion”. 

Ballinalack

4. A man has died and a woman has been seriously injured following a collision between a lorry and a car in Co Westmeath.

The incident happened at around 5.00pm yesterday on the N4 near Ballinalack.

Abortion rights

5. In the US, a draft opinion reportedly circulated among US Supreme Court justices suggests that the court may be poised to overturn Roe v Wade.

A document labelled “Opinion of the Court” shows a majority of the court’s justices earlier this year threw support behind overturning the 1973 case that legalised abortion across the country.

Stormont 

6. Northern Ireland goes to the polls on 5 May to elect 90 Assembly members to the devolved legislature in Belfast.

Here are some of the main issues and themes that have dominated the election campaignand are set to factor when the votes are counted and efforts to form a new administration begin.

Oil embargo

7. A recession brought on by the energy crisis in Europe would hit Ireland “early and hardest”, Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews has warned.

Rising energy prices first driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and now exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, are expected to have a negative impact on economies across Europe.

Lyra McKee

8. The sister of murdered journalist Lyra McKee has described the timing of a leaked letter as “exploitative of the tragedy for political purposes”.

A letter from Sinn Féin’s chairman Declan Kearney reportedly to Saoradh, a group accused of having links to the New IRA, mooted a potential “co-operation agreement” over achieving a border poll.

Living history

9. Former residents of Dublin’s tenements are being encouraged to share their memories as part of a Dublin City Council initiative.

Today, the award-winning tenement museum, 14 Henrietta Street, is opening up its doors to collect memories of those who once lived there or grew up in a Dublin tenement.

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