LAST UPDATE | 26 Jul 2021

GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know about as you start your day.

Apartments at Regency Hotel

1. In our main story today, Cónal Thomas reports Dublin City Council has signed 25-year social housing leases for 124 new apartments behind the former Regency Hotel in North Dublin. 

Roseberry Investments Ltd was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for 124 build-to-rent apartments in September last year at lands adjacent to the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin 9. 

The development would see 48 one-bed and 78 two-bed apartments in blocks up to six storeys tall on the site of the current car park at the back of the hotel in Whitehall.

Indoor hospitality

2. Thousands of pubs and restaurants across the country are reopening their doors to indoor hospitality today for the first time in months. 

At present, only those who are fully vaccinated will be permitted to dine indoors. 

While the Digital Covid Certificate will be the primary evidence used when going into a pub, restaurant or café to access indoor hospitality, other forms of evidence or documentation will also be allowed.

Motorcyclist fatality

3. A motorcyclist has died after colliding with a jeep and a tractor in Co Donegal. 

The incident happened on the N14 between Dry Arch roundabout and the Port Road roundabout yesterday at around 4.55pm. 

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to come forward. 

Collision in Co Meath

4. In Co Meath, a man has died after the car he was driving collided with a wall yesterday evening. 

The incident happened in the townland of Mandistown, Drumconrath in Navan at around 6.40pm. 

The man, aged in his late 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Apartments in Poolbeg 

5. Back to housing news, planning permission to build 600 apartments as part of the development of a “new suburb” in Poolbeg has been submitted by a consortium led by Johnny Ronan’s real estate firm.

Ronan Group Real Estate, Oaktree Capital Management, Lioncor Developments and the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) submitted the planning application on Friday to Dublin City Council for the first phase of ‘Pembroke Quarter’.

NAMA will hold on to a 20% stake in the development on the site of the former Irish Glass bottle factory on the Poolbeg peninsula, with the other members of the consortium holding the remaining 80%. 

England flooding

6. In England, homes, roads and Tube stations have been flooded while two London hospitals have asked patients to stay away after thunderstorms battered the south of the country.

The Environment Agency has six flood warnings in place across the country’s southeast, while there are 19 alerts for potential flooding active throughout England and Wales.

The wettest part of the country yesterday was St James’s Park in London, where 41.6mm of rain fell.

Unvaccinated Americans

7. The United States is in an “unnecessary predicament” of soaring Covid-19 cases fuelled by unvaccinated Americans and the virulent Delta variant, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert has said.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, describing himself as “very frustrated”.

He said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials.

Australia lockdowns

8. Coronavirus lockdowns are likely to be lifted in two major Australian cities this week, as outbreaks of the Delta variant were brought under control.

Around half of Australia’s 25 million largely unvaccinated residents are currently under stay-at-home orders.

Tokyo Olympics 

9. In sports, Mona McSharry has made it through to tomorrow night’s 100m breaststroke final after her 1:06.59 semi-final time secured the eighth place. 

It was an outstanding performance from the Sligo native, just 0.3s off her Irish senior record. The 20-year old, making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, finished fourth. As a result, she is just the second Irish swimmer ever to make an Olympic final.