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LAST UPDATE | 12 Jun 2024
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
In the European elections, we now have five MEPs elected, following the completion of the vote in Dublin.
Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews, Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty, Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan and Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin all crossed the line after the counting finished this evening.
The Rotunda Hospital’s refusal to investigate a complaint made by a couple over the death of their newborn baby because it was made outside of a 12 month window is amongst the cases flagged in the annual report from the Ombudsman for Irish public services.
Newly elected Dublin MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said it is time for Labour and the Social Democrats to “join forces” and “stop pretending that there’s any difference” between them.
Gardaí have launched an investigation into a fire in the crypt of St Michan’s Church in Dublin, in which mummified remains have been destroyed.
The incident took place this afternoon at 4.30 pm, and the vicar of the church said that the remains were destroyed during efforts to put the blaze out.
An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed a senior Hezbollah commander yesterday, the militant group said.
It named the commander as Sami Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, born in 1969, in a statement reporting his death.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said that there are no signs of improvement in Ireland’s water quality and more action is needed in a new indicators report.
The water quality in our lakes, estuaries and groundwaters did not improve in 2023, and the small improvements that were recorded were offset by declines elsewhere due to nutrient pollution caused by agriculture and wastewater.
The new chair of the RTÉ board is to tell politicians sitting on the Oireachtas media committee that the broadcaster needs a “sufficient, predictable, and independent” funding framework.
Terence O’Rourke took up the position following the resignation of Siún Ní Raghallaigh amid a public fall-out with Media Minister Catherine Martin.
Three men were arrested this morning as part of an investigation into the murder of a PSNI constable in 1975. Two were arrested in the REpublic and another in Northern Ireland.
Opinion polls are one of the main talking points of the recent local and European Parliament elections. Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Jack Chambers, Fianna Fáil Director of Elections, publicly criticised pollsters using online panels.
Fianna Fáil has good reason to be frustrated. General election polls have significantly underestimated support for Fianna Fáil and vastly exaggerated support for Sinn Féin. For them, this creates a mistaken media narrative about popular support for Sinn Féin.
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Does anyone know of one bar or restaurant, or hair salon for that matter, that reduced their prices when they last sought and received a 4.5% VAT reduction? Furthermore, does anyone know of one bar, restaurant or hair salon that didn’t increase their prices by at least 4.5% when the VAT rate was returned to 13.5%?
@Jack Cass: Of course not. Price only goes up, never down. Price gouging seems to be a national sport in Ireland unfortunately.
@Jack Cass: The reduction is to help them, not the customers
@Jack Cass: I know plenty of bars and restaurants that have closed down though. I doubt they did that before setting Thor prices to the minimum viable
@Jack Cass: The point of the reduction was not to reduce prices for consumers, it was so that the costs for the businesses would come down and they could afford to stay open at a time when energy, insurance, wages and all other inputs were skyrocketing. The reason prices kept rising when the vat rate returned to 13.5% is that those costs are still rising. Government imposed costs such as the extra bank holiday, increased sick days, increased employer prsi have a huge effect on an industry that has to employ a lot of staff but which operates on very small margins. If you think it’s an industry that makes super profits then explain why so many have closed or gotten into serious financial problems in the past number of years e.g. Press Up Group.
@Richard Keogh: Press up group is an awful example if you’re wanting to talk about the hard-pressed hospitality business. Leveraged to the hilt and it all comes crashing down eventually.
‘Standard’ VAT rate of 23% on toilet paper,shampoo and toothpaste. Everyday essentials. It means every time you spend €5 on these products roughly €1 goes to the exchequer. To pay for bike sheds and security huts.
@Larry Betts: Michael Stone needs another yacht, those things don’t pay for themselves.
Will they pass on to customers i think not
The decision on this – as one so many other important business decisions will be heavily influenced by senior civil servants who have permanent pensionable Monday to Friday secure jobs, and who have never come remotely close to ever running a business themselves. ( Having a degree is NOT the same thing )
Many of the recurring problems in modern Ireland stem from this fact.
Lowering the Vat rate won’t help small cafes & restaurants, Roderic O Gorman has destroyed Irish Tourism in less than 2 years, particularly along the Western seaboard. A business & brand that took decades to build wiped out by ROG in 2 years. Multi millionaires been made now out of IPAS accommodation, the biggest growth business in Ireland. Unfortunately it does nothing for Tourism or Hospitality.
@SV3tN8M4: It sounds like those business are doing quite well
So they won’t reimplement the 9% rate as it will cost €764m or €545m for the year. If only there was €14bn coming into the coffers in a few months…
@Stephen Heffernan: why would or should they. The hospitality industry didn’t pass the reduction on the last time. If they do reduce the vat rate then everyone needs to accept that it is a direct subvention to the running costs and profit of the industry and not be looking for prices to reduce…because they won’t. I’d rather my tax money was used in better ways….just my opinion
@Stephen Heffernan: the hotel gouging for the likes of the Oasis concert will more than make up for it.
@Toca Stories: I agree and I don’t think prices would decrease for the customer. I’m just pointing out the fact that they’re using cost as the reason to not reimplement it when in fact there’s plenty of money available if they wanted to do it.
Buy 50 pints in the bar of your local hotel and get a free nights accommodation.
Why are they consulting these businesses. The lower VAT rate is to benefit the consumer isn’t it?
@Liam Byrne: No, it was to keep businesses alive, it was never about lowering prices for consumer.
Hahahahahaha!
Definitely not hotels.. they took the shillings for refugees and opened the rest of the hotel at double the price. You can’t have it both ways. Greed.
It’s a race to the bottom.
They robbed the country blind when vat rate dropped to help them, so i say f the lot of them bring their vat rate up to 23% the greedy robbin bstrds
the price will not decrease if they even get that.
it will continue to get higher, and less rooms will be available anyway and everybody knows why
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