EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #WATER CHARGES The Irish government is fearful that the 2014 water charges will be boycotted on a large scale, according to a leaked Troika document. The document has also revealed that the setting up of the Irish Water body, which will be in charge of metering and billing, is said to to be moving “at a slow pace.”
2. #LEGAL SERVICES The Troika has expressed its concern that legal services remain expensive in Ireland, a leaked document has revealed. The draft document says that reforms to legal services in the country are important to competitiveness and must be implemented.
3. #ILLEGAL ADOPTIONS The Irish Times is reporting that state authorities have determined that there are approximately 100 cases where the children of unmarried mothers have been illegally adopted. It’s believed that incidents of this occurred until the 1970s.
4. #SAVILE A lawyer representing over 50 of Jimmy Savile’s victims has said that she will be seeking compensation from the BBC, the National Health Service, his estate, as well as other organisations. Compensation will not be sought until all inquiries into Savile had concluded, however.
5. #FLAGS There have been more protests overnight throughout Northern Ireland. Five plastic baton rounds were discharged by the PSNI in their attempts to break up the protests. Water cannons were also used. Petrol bombs, masonry and other missiles were used against police, four of which were left injured. One officer required hospital treatment.
6. #FUNERAL Adventurer Ian McKeever is to be buried today. He died earlier this month when he was struck by lightning as he led a group of charity fundraisers up Mount Kilimanjaro. Funeral mass is at 11.30am at The Church of St Laurence O’Toole, Roundwood, Co Wicklow.
7. #BUS ÉIREANN It is now believed that the parties involved in the averted Bus Éireann strike will meet in the Labour Court as early as next week. The strike, which was due to take place from tomorrow, was averted late last night after 12 hours of talks.
8. #TRAFFIC FINES A governmental working group has suggested that unpaid traffic fines should be added to the cost of motor tax for the drivers in question, the Irish Examiner reports. They believe that this would help to free up both garda and court resources.
9. #RIP The British historian and journalist Robert Kee died last night at the age of 93. Kee had a lifelong interest in Ireland, and presented the television series ‘Ireland – A Television History’. He also campaigned for the release of the Guilford Four.
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