LAST UPDATE | 27 Apr 2022
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
Construction defects
1. In our lead story this morning, Michelle Hennessy reports that owners of apartments with leaks, damp issues and fire safety defects have said they have been ‘aggressively’ pursued for costs to repair fire safety and water ingress issues.
Tens of thousands of apartment units built during the Celtic Tiger era are estimated to be affected by construction defects, largely relating to fire safety deficiencies such as a lack of fire stopping between apartments, or water ingress causing leaks and damp.
Typical costs for each homeowner are usually set at between €15,000 and €20,000 and some developments are affected by both issues, which can double the repair bill.
Ukraine
2. Russia is to suspend natural gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria from today.
Russia’s Gazprom will halt gas shipments to Poland via the Yamal pipeline, according to Poland’s PGNiG gas firm.
The suspensions would be the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that “unfriendly” foreign buyers would have to pay the state-owned Gazprom in roubles instead of other currencies.
Housing
3. Rent levels for new tenancies remained high at the end of 2021, with rents in Dublin still highest at €1,972 per month, according to a new report.
The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) rent index measures rental price developments faced by those taking up new tenancies in the private rental sector.
New rents nationally increased by 9% in the last quarter of 2021 from €1,298 in the last quarter of 2020 to €1,415 for the same period last year.
Prison Officers’ Association
4. Prison officers will today call on the Government to deliver a pay agreement to match rising inflation and the “cost of living crisis”.
The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) began their annual conference in Sligo last night – Minister Helen McEntee will address the conference.
Aung San Suu Kyi
5. In Myanmar, a court has convicted Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison in the first of several corruption cases against the country’s former leader.
The 76-year-old, who was ousted by an army takeover last year, had denied the allegation she had accepted gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars given to her as a bribe by a top political colleague.
Kildare
6. Back in Ireland, Gardaí arrested a suspected burglary gang after a pursuit across Meath and County Kildare yesterday.
They arrested the men after they crashed in to a supermarket parking area in Naas, County Kildare, with specialist units including a dedicated team from a national anti-burglary unit involved.
Angela Rayner
7. In the UK, the editor of The Mail on Sunday has refused to attend a meeting with Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle over the paper’s controversial report about Angela Rayner.
Hoyle told MPs he had arranged a meeting with David Dillon following an outcry over claims the Labour deputy leader crossed and uncrossed her legs during Prime Minister’s Questions to distract Boris Johnson.
Helen McEntee
8. The Minister for Justice has said that victims of sex crimes could be given updated photographs of their offender after they are released from prison.
Speaking at the Justice Committee, Helen McEntee said she would be willing to explore legislation that would allow a victim to access a picture of their attacker upon their release from jail.
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam
9. Authorities in Singapore have executed a mentally disabled Malaysian man condemned over a drug offence after a court dismissed a last-minute challenge from his mother and international pleas to spare him.
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, aged 34, had been on death row for more than a decade after he was convicted of trafficking about 43gs (1.5oz) of heroin into Singapore.
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