LAST UPDATE | 25 Jul 2025

GOOD MORNING.

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

Sky-high mortgage drawdowns

1. The value of mortgage drawdowns in the first six months of a year has hit levels not seen since the months leading up to the financial crash.

The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland has published its latest mortgages figures, painting a picture of the rising cost of buying a home in Ireland today.

Thailand-Cambodia border

2. A total of 138,000 civilians have been evacuated from the Thai border with Cambodia as both countries have continued to launch deadly strikes on each other.

A long-running border dispute erupted yesterday into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops. The UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later today.

Gaza ceasefire talks collapse

3. The US and Israel have pulled out of Gaza ceasefire talks, with American diplomat Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for failing to reach a deal.

Mediators had been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar for more than two weeks in a bid to secure a breakthrough in indirect talks for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, after nearly two years of fighting.

France recognition of Palestine reaction

4. The US and Israel have also reacted angrily to France’s move to formally recognise a Palestinian state, denouncing the plans by Emmanuel Macron.

France will formally recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, Macron announced yesterday.

Vapes tax to raise €17m

5. A tax on e-cigarettes would raise an additional €17m in revenue for the state, a specialist expert group has told the government ahead of Budget 2026.

Government is set to double the price of e-cigarette refill cartridges, placing a €5 duty on the products, and add a €1 tax to disposable vapes next year, it announced last year.

 The Gen-Z stare

6. Gen Z’ers are getting stick for their ability to pause and stare, described in today’s Voices section as ‘the human version of the buffering symbol’.

Writer and columnist Niamh O’Reilly looks at this phenomenon, and wonders where it came from.

No tolls for the All-Ireland

7. Football fans should not have to pay road tolls this weekend as they travel up to watch Kerry versus Donegal in the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park, according to Michael Healy Rae.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, the Kerry TD and junior minister suggested that the removal of motorway tolls would reduce traffic on the roads and the financial burden on fans.

Ballymaguire Foods

8. Ballymaguire Foods, the company at the centre of a listeriosis outbreak, was served with two prohibition orders in the weeks leading up to a mass recall of ready meals and side dishes that it produces.

These prohibition orders were part of the same investigation that ultimately led to the recall of over 140 food items this week. A prohibition order serves to prohibit the sale of an impacted product, either temporarily or permanently.

Weight-based car tax

9. A weight-based tax could be on the cards for SUVs and large cars, according to briefings for the government ahead of the Budget.

The Tax Strategy Group, an expert advisory panel at the Department of Finance, has said that a new levy would be a way of offsetting the losses from the existing tax bases due to people switching to electric vehicles.

It is the third year that the group has recommended the move in order to pay for the electrification of the national car fleet, set to cost €1.5bn per year in lost motor tax, VAT, and petrol and diesel excise receipts.