EACH DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #CANNABIS: Two women have been hospitalised with what is reported to be life-threatening conditions after consuming cannabis which is said to have been contaminated. RTÉ reports that the two women in their 20s are in the intensive care unit of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
2. #PAY CUTS: The Dáil last night passed legislation that will mean pay cuts for public servants earning over €65,000 from July. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill was passed by 81 votes to 50 and gives effect to the pay cut aspect of the Haddington Road Agreement on public sector pay and reform.
3. #CHILDCARE: The fallout from the RTÉ Prime Time programme on the mistreatment of children in some Irish creches continues with two creches at the centre of allegations set to install CCTV that will be visible to parents. Meanwhile, a garda investigation into the shocking footage broadcast in the ‘A Breach of Trust’ programme is continuing.
4. #PROPERTY TAX: As the deadline for filing the property tax return came and went last night, over 1.5 million people were confirmed as having registered for the new tax but most of the TDs who said they would not be registering to pay have maintained that stance.
5. #ROAMING CHARGES: Mobile phone roaming charges in Europe could be abolished by next year under radical proposals being put forward by the EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda in the European Parliament this morning. Neelie Kroes is telling MEPs that she wants to get a legislative package to end roaming charges and guarantee net neutrality across the continent by Easter of next year.
6. #COMPETITION: Ryanair has been told that it may have to sell part of its stake in Aer Lingus following provisional findings by the Competition Commission in the UK. Ryanair’s 29.8 per cent stage in its fellow Irish airline could reduce competition on routes between Britain and Ireland, the Commission has found.
7. #PENALTY POINTS: The Garda Ombudsman is set to investigate the penalty points controversy after the Oireachtas Justice Committee agreed yesterday to refer the recent report by an assistant garda commissioner to the Ombudsman, the Irish Independent reports. The Committee may also investigate the controversy at a late date.
8. #WOOLWICH: A man will appear in court in London later today charged in connection with the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in south-east London suburb of Woolwich last week. Michael Adebowale, 22, was released from hospital on Tuesday and has now been charged in relation to the brutal killing.
9. #PAINKILLERS: Higher doses of painkillers such as ibuprofen could increase the risk of non-fatal heart attacks, strokes and death, according to research published in the medical journal The Lancet today.
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