EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #HEALTH: The Department of Health has been breaking the law for the past 12 years, according to the Ombudsman. A report by Emily O’Reilly has found that the Mobility Allowance Scheme’s upper age limit of 66 is illegal and the Department knows it. It is a situation which has been described as “quite unacceptable” by the Ombudsman.
2. #HOSPITAL CONSULTANTS: Some hospital consultants could have their pay cut by the HSE after the Irish Hospital Consultants Association insisted today that it will not attend a Labour Court hearing over work practice reforms. Earlier this week, Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin said he expected the ICHA to show up at the hearing
3. #ALAN RYAN: A second man has been charged in connection with the murder of Real IRA figure Alan Ryan in Dublin last month. The 27-year-old man is due before the courts in Dublin this morning.
4. #BAILOUT: Officials from the EU, IMF and ECB – aka The Troika – have completed their eighth review of Ireland’s bailout and are expected to say that the country continues to meet the targets set. Ministers Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin will hold a press conference later today to talk about the latest review.
5. #HOUSEHOLD CHARGE: The Local Government Management Agency has admitted that as many as tens of thousands of households may have received a letter warning them to pay the household charge even though they may have paid the €100 tax. On RTÉ Radio this morning, the LGMA’s Paul McSweeney has asked those who have received letters in error to contact the agency.
6. #JOBSWATCH: A web and mobile payment services company is to create 120 new jobs in Co Louth, it has been announced. Yapstone International has been described as one of many “young, dynamic companies” attracted to Ireland by our low corporate tax rate, according to Jobs Minister Richard Bruton.
7. #HURRICANE SANDY: The Caribbean is on alert as Sandy made landfall in south-east Cuba early this morning. The category two hurricane is carrying winds of 110 miles per hour and has already killed one man as it swept over Jamaica yesterday. Warnings are already in place in the Bahamas and the US state of Florida.
8. #ARGOS: The coffee table favourite that is the Argos catalogue could be on the way out in the wake of cost-cutting measures announced by the retailer yesterday which includes the closure of 75 stores over the next five years. The Telegraph reports that the owner of Argos, Home Retail Group, plans to cut circulation of the catalogue and scrap the laminated versions of it that are in stores.
9. #TRUMPED: US President Barack Obama hit back at Donald Trump last night as the billionaire said he would donate $5 million to charity if Obama released college and passport records amid false claims that the president is not a US citizen. In response, Obama joked on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that their feud goes back to “when we were growing up together in Kenya.”
Read: The Dredge – Justin Timberlake’s wedding had ‘joke’ homeless people. The day’s best celebrity dirt over on The Daily Edge >
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