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GOOD MORNING
The 9 at 9
Good morning! Here are nine things you want to know as you start your day
EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #CAVAN: A woman has been killed and a man arrested overnight after a siege in a bar in Bailieborough, Co Cavan. A tense stand-off between gardaí and the man, who barricaded himself into the bar, last several hours before his arrest at around 3am.
2. #DÁIL BAR: Nearly €7,000 was spent in two bars located in Leinster House on the day and night of the abortion debate last July. A Freedom of Information request has also revealed that there are no records available for who licences the Oireachtas bars, which a pub industry has described as “very strange”.
3. #BUDGET 2014: Minister of State Kathleen Lynch has told TheJournal.ie that the Labour Party wants €2 billion worth of budget cuts this year rather than the €3.1 billion that has been proposed. The junior minister said she would be fighting for “everything” in her department when discussions on cuts begin.
4. #ARREARS: The CEO of Permanent TSB has denied that he has any knowledge of letters being sent to account holders in low amounts of arrears, advising them to sell their homes. TheJournal.ie featured one of these letters in July with the bank saying at the time that there were “sound reasons” why a proposal like this might be made.
5. #HMV: The music and film retailer will open its doors again at the Henry Street branch in Dublin after being closed for nine months. Hilco, who bought HMV earlier this year, have said that three other shops will open next week and all gift vouchers will be honoured.
6. #DRUGS: There has been growth in drug use outside Dublin in the last year, according to a report from Merchants Quay Ireland. The service’s report also found strong indications of “increasing levels of poverty and hardship” across the country.
7. #FOOD SAFETY: Seventeen enforcement orders were served on food businesses in Ireland last month, including 15 closure orders. The Food Safety Authority said that most of the businesses involved are in trouble over basic issues like evidence of dirt or pest control problems, that shouldn’t be taking place.
8. #CYPRUS: The Cypriot parliament has passed 12 bills required for the green light to be given for the country’s second tranche of 1.5 billion euros in bailout funds, AFP reports. Two banking bills requested by international leaders were rejected at the votes last night, including one that would see the recapitalisation of Hellenic Bank.
9. #WILDFIRE: The massive wildfire that tore through more than 66,000 acres of the Yosemite National Park in California, was started by a hunter’s illegal campfire, BBC reports. Thousands of firefighters are continuing to battle the blaze though authorities say it is now 80 per cent contained.
