EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #PROMNIGHT: The President has signed off on legislation that will liquidate Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) – the former Anglo Irish Bank – and transfer its assets to NAMA as the government now seeks a deal to avoid the immediate €3.06 billion promissory note payment in respect of the defunct bank due next month. The deal means that the promissory note debt becomes sovereign debt as Ireland looks to pay it back over a longer period, lessening the immediate repayment burden.
2. #PROMNIGHT 2: There were heated exchanges in the Dáil last night as the government put forward the emergency legislation after news of the plan to liquidate IBRC leaked yesterday evening. Opposition parties raised concerns that there was little time to examine the detail of the bill – which gives new, wide-ranging powers to the Finance Minister – while the government insisted it was needed to protect €12 billion in assets at IBRC.
3. #COURTS: A case challenging the legality of the promissory note arrangement will be mentioned in the Supreme Court this morning. The case, taken by businessman David Hall, was dismissed in the High Court last week but will be appealed despite the developments overnight. Some independent TDs, including Stephen Donnelly, raised concerns that measures voted on last night were unconstitutional.
4. #EU BUDGET: Amid all the drama in Dublin last night, EU leaders – including a weary-eyed Enda Kenny – will meet in Brussels today to begin crucial discussions on the €973 billion budget for the 27-member bloc for the next seven years. Leaders failed to reach an agreement on a budget last November as some member states seek cuts to spending while others seek protection of expenditure in key areas like agriculture. Here’s what’s on the table.
5. #MAGDALENES: Survivors of the Magdalene Laundries want to meet Taoiseach Enda Kenny as the row over the government’s decision to not yet issue an apology on behalf of the State continues. Members of Magdalene Survivors Together said in a statement last night that they were left “devastated” by Kenny’s decision to stop short of an apology for the State’s role in committing over 2,100 women to the workhouses.
6. #DEATH: A teenage boy has died after a farm accident in west Cork yesterday evening. It is understood the boy was fatally injured when he became trapped between a piece of machinery and a wall. Gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority are investigating the incident.
7. #TUNISIA: Tunisia is to form a new government of technocrats until elections can be held in the wake of violence in the country which saw an anti-Islamist, opposition politician killed and protests break out in several major cities yesterday.
8. #SKY: Sky Ireland is to offer home broadband and phone services to Irish customers from today with entry-level broadband services priced at €30 per month and pledges speeds of up to 24 Mb per seconds for customers. Sky Broadband Lite, which caps broadband usage, and an unlimited broadband package will be among the options offered to customers.
9. #AUSTRALIA: A damning report from Australia’s Crime Commission says the use of banned drugs in professional sports in the country is “widespread” with drugs, in some cases, supplied by organised crime syndicates, BBC News reports. Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said the findings were “shocking” adding they will disgust “Australian sports fans” but there are no details of the clubs or athletes involved.
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