EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #COST COUNTING: Business owners in Cork are assessing the damage after further flooding in the city centre last night. The floods are said to be the worst the city has seen since 2004. Meanwhile, around 8,500 households have been left without power this morning, mainly in the south and southeast.
2. #ACCIDENT: A man was freed with cutting equipment after a tree fell on his car in rural north Dublin overnight. Drivers are being urged to beware of fallen branches and other debris on the roads as the post-storm clean-up continues.
3. #DAY IN COURT: The trial of former Anglo executives Seán Fitzpatrick, William McAteer, and Pat Whelan begins today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The three face 16 charges of unlawfully providing financial assistance, allegedly doing so in order to boost the bank’s share price. They’re pleading not guilty.
4. #MORTGAGE DEALS: AIB is to write off debt for some borrowers whose mortgages are distressed, under a new initiative expected to come into force soon. For the bank, it’s a final attempt to keep people in their homes where there is some level of affordability.
5. #LEAKS: Dublin City Council has spent €136,000 fixing leaks at homes where meters have been installed by Irish Water, The Irish Times reports. The Department of the Environment has paid back some of the costs, but the council has been told there’ll be no further refunds.
6. #READY TO RUMBLE: Fianna Fáil have joined the race to sign boxer Kenny Egan as a local election candidate, according to this morning’s Irish Independent. However, the paper reports, Fine Gael is insisting the Olympic medallist will run for the Government Party in the May ballot.
7. #REUNIONS: North and South Korea have agreed to hold reunions for families separated following the Korean War, the BBC reports. They’re scheduled to take place this month, and if they go ahead will be the first such reunions since 2010.
8. #BERTIE: Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern is heading to Iran to give a speech this week, and is expected to meet with government officials while he’s in the country, according to this morning’s Irish Examiner. An Oireachtas foreign affairs committee also visited Tehran last month.
9. #ELEVATION: The roof of u2′s studio in Dublin’s Docklands was partially lifted off during last night’s storms, according to the Irish Independent. Dublin Fire Brigade responded to the scene, and developer Harry Crosbie — who lives next-door — also called in to check on the band’s equipment.
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