LAST UPDATE | 21 Jun 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

PARAMEDICS

1. In our lead story this morning, unions voice their concerns that paramedics are leaving the profession due to stress and burnout.

Ambulance workers say they feel “taken for granted” with staffing levels and workloads causing burnout and leading to some leaving the sector.

Representatives have said staff numbers should at least double to tackle the current issues facing ambulance workers.

WAR IN UKRAINE

2. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports has sparked fresh tensions with Europe as fears grow of a global food crisis, as Kyiv accuses Moscow of stepping up attacks in the east of the country.

Since being repelled from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine following their February invasion, Moscow is focusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region.

Its navy is blockading ports, which Ukraine says is preventing millions of tonnes of grain from being shipped to world markets, contributing to soaring food prices.

HEALTH INEQUALITY

3. Ahead of a conference on health inequality, medical experts say that the current cost of living crisis will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable.

CSO figures from 2019 indicate that people living in the wealthiest of Ireland live five years longer than those in more deprived areas.
Researchers in RCSI, Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College have said that the link between socio-economic status and health has become a greater focus during the pandemic.

HUMAN RIGHTS

4. The first anti-trafficking report from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has made several recommendations to the government for improving its methods of supporting victims of human trafficking.

The commission found that gender-specific shelter is urgently needed for victims, as they are currently placed into the Direct Provision system.

Figures in the report showed that from 2013 to 2021, there had been 475 victims of human trafficking brought to the attention of non-governmental organisations or the state.

THIRD LEVEL

5. Higher and Further Education Minister Simon Harris will today seek Cabinet approval to increase the earnings threshold for students’ summer work in the third level grant scheme.

The changes to the student grant scheme would allow students earn more over the summer break and ensure they do not lose their eligibility.

Currently the holiday earnings threshold is set at €4,500. The minister is proposing to increase this to €6,552.

PRESS OMBUDSMAN

6.The Press Ombudsman has said the majority of complaints about Covid-19 news articles could be linked to a campaign by an anonymous Facebook group.

According to the annual report of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, a high proportion of complaints related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The annual report shows the Ombudsman’s office received 527 complaints in 2021, representing a 50% increase compared to 2020. It was the second highest number of complaints received in any one year.

TIPPERARY
7. Gardaí have launched an investigation following the discovery of two bodies in a home in Cloneen, Co. Tipperary.

The man and woman were elderly and early indications suggest their bodies lay undiscovered for a period of time.

A post mortem is expected to take place today. Gardaí said the scene remains preserved and an examination by the Garda Technical Bureau will take place later this evening.

ISRAEL

Israel’s government has decided to dissolve parliament and call a new election, the country’s fifth in three years.

The vote, expected this autumn, could bring about the return of a nationalist religious government led by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another prolonged period of political gridlock.

The previous four elections, focused on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule while on trial for corruption charges, ended in deadlock.

BABY ON BOARD

9. Justice Minister Helen McEntee is pregnant with her second child, due in December.

In April last year, McEntee became the first sitting Cabinet minister in the history of the Irish State to give birth while in office.

A spokesman said: “The minister and her husband Paul are very happy to be expecting their second child, due in December.

“Minister McEntee intends taking maternity leave to care for their baby.”