LAST UPDATE | 30 Aug 2021

GOOD MORNING.

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

Space race 

1. In our main story today, CJ McKinney examines Ireland’s role in the space race. 

With at least 34 companies working in the space industry, those in the field say Irish scientists do dabble in the interstellar but space exploration as such isn’t a government priority. 

The lack of anything resembling an indigenous space programme is beside the point, Mark McCarville of tech and telecommunications consultancy Mindseed said. 

“You don’t have to be launching rockets to get into space”, he said.

“Ireland’s place is more of a component or subsystems supplier” – part of the supply chain for space missions or satellite launches, rather than organising them.

Easing restrictions

2. The Cabinet Covid-19 sub-committee is to meet today to discuss the next easing of restrictions, as the majority of schools return this week and public transport returns to full capacity.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland, Minister Simon Coveney said the government “wants to open up through September, and wants to do that as safely as we can”. 

“One thing I think we will definitely do tomorrow, as a Government, is to give specific dates so that people can plan their businesses and their lives around dates in the future,” he said.

A decision will be signed off at a full Cabinet meeting tomorrow. 

Hurricane Ida

3. Across the sea in the United States, Hurricane Ida has blasted ashore the Louisiana coast as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US.

The storm has knocked out power to all of New Orleans, blown roofs off buildings and reversed the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors.

The hurricane has been blamed for at least one death so far. 

Leaving Afghanistan

4. Ireland and over 90 other countries have received assurances from the Taliban that anybody wishing to leave Afghanistan after tomorrow’s deadline will be allowed to do so.

British troops have already left Kabul and US military personnel will be out of Afghanistan before the 31 August deadline set by US President Joe Biden.

But there have been fears over the potentially thousands of Afghans who may have been eligible for resettlement schemes, who could not make it to Kabul airport for evacuation or were not processed in time.

Vaccination 

5. Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Ireland has dropped 36% in 10 months, a survey by market research company Ipsos MRBI has found.

The latest survey, carried out between 30 July and 15 August, found that the proportion of people who said they will not get a Covid-19 vaccine has dropped to 5%. A further 4% said they were unsure about the matter.

When the survey was first carried out last October a total of 33% said they were unsure while 12% said they would not get vaccinated against the disease. 

Air strike

6. The US is investigating whether civilians may have been killed in an air strike it launched to destroy a car laden with explosives in the Afghan capital Kabul, a spokesman for US Central Command has said. 

Rockets have since been fired at Kabul’s airport today where US troops are racing to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan and evacuate allies under the threat of attacks.

Latest figures

7. Public health officials confirmed 1,706 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, as the Chief Medical Officer sought to reassure parents and students that schools so far have not been “a major source of disease transmission” and emphasised the importance of education.

There are 347 Covid-19 patients in hospital as of yesterday, with 60 in intensive care.

Debunked

8. A video shared recently on an Irish Instagram account showed a supposed pharmaceutical expert discussing a claim that the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine contains high quantities of a chemical known as graphene oxide.

This is false - there is no proof that graphene oxide exists in any Covid-19 vaccine, and a closer look at the origins of the claim shows that it relies on poor quality evidence.

Tributes

9. The president and Taoiseach led tributes to journalist Rodney Rice who died at the age of 76 following a short illness.

Rice was a reporter, producer and presenter with RTÉ for more than 40 years. He was best known for presenting RTÉ Radio 1′s Saturday View for 25 years.

The Antrim native also produced and presented RTÉ’s Worlds Apart series for 23 years. He travelled extensively in Africa, Asia and Latin America for the series, which focused on the developing world.