NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news. 

IRELAND

Micheál Martin speaking from Cyprus. The Journal The Journal

•  The Taoiseach has said that “substantial packages” will be announced next week to support the agriculture and transport sectors in light of the rising cost of fuel.
• Irish troops are preparing for their final peacekeeping deployment to Lebanon.
• The Buildings Energy Rating system will be overhauled next month, and some less well insulated homes’ ratings could change as a result.
• No planning is needed for bike and bin sheds under new plans.
• Maura Higgins has landed a place on the US version of Dancing With the Stars.
• A young girl remains in a critical condition after being airlifted to Temple Street after she was struck by a car. 

INTERNATIONAL

Zelenskyy meeting with Ursala Von Der Leyen and António Costa.

#ZELENSKYY is in Cyprus with key European leaders to celebrate the release of a 90-billion-euro loan to support defence and insfrastructure.

#US FORCES have boarded a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean. 

#TRUMP is to meet Israeli and Lebanese envoys when they hold a second round of peace talks later today. 

PARTING SHOT

 The sun is out, the writs have been moved and the posters are up, so we are now officially into an early summer by-election.

November’s presidential poll gave those of us who love a good election a quick fix, but without a general or local election until likely 2029, these by-elections may be all we’ll get for a good while. 

There are two of them, in case you hadn’t heard.

President Catherine Connolly won the above-mentioned contest, vacating her Galway West Dáil seat in the process and necessitating the first by-election. 

The second came about after Paschal Donohoe also departed for a senior but unelected job in the World Bank, forcing him to give up Fine Gael’s seat in Dublin Central. 

That the two events happened within a couple of weeks of each other mean we get a two-for-one deal on Friday 22 May. 

We already have a rake of candidates who have confirmed they are running (it’s in double figures in both areas) and there’s a week left to go to register, but as it stands who is in the running and how is it looking?