Betfair delivers a Christmas message to Reading FC at the Madejski Stadium in the form of a squad of 25 turkeys with the Premier League side currently odds on favourite at 2-13 to face relegation this season. Pic: Geoff Caddick/PA Wire

HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps

THINGS WE LEARNED

#ABORTION: The government’s decision to press ahead with legislating for the X Case continues to cause controversy today with the Bishop of Kimore describing the move as “the first step on the road to a death a culture of death”. Pat Rabbitte said he was “taken aback” by the comments, RTÉ reports.

#SEPTIC TANKS: Ireland has been fined €2 million by the European Court of Justice over its failure to bring an appropriate regime of septic tank inspections. Though the Environment Minister Phil Hogan has made steps to introduce new laws on inspections Ireland faces a daily fine of €12,000 between now and when it is found to be in total compliance.

#CREDIT CARDS: Bank of Ireland’s decision to increase credit card interest rates by between 0.7 and 4 per cent annually has drawn criticism with Christmas just days away. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said today that he doesn’t like it, but can’t do anything about it.

#SOCIAL WELFARE: The Labour Party has been plunged into more trouble after senator James Heffernan resigned the party whip in anticipation of voting against elements of the social welfare bill being debated in the Seanad today. In event the bill passed committee stage but that’s now six people within the parliamentary Labour Party who have lost the whip since it formed a government with Fine Gael last year.

#HILLSBOROUGH: The verdict of ‘accidental death’ in the case of 96 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster 23 years ago has been quashed in a historic judgement by the High Court in London today. The decision paves the way for new inquests in addition to a new police investigation into the football stadium disaster.

#LIBEL: The former Fianna Fáil minister, Frank Fahey, has received a “six-figure sum” and an apology from the publishers of the Irish Daily Mail and Irish Mail on Sunday over articles written in 2006, 2007 and 2010.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Barack Obama was named TIME’s Person of the Year today but did it have something to with this quite adorable picture from the White House?
• This graphic which wonders what an Apple credit card would like. Some people have too much time on their hands, but it’s still cool.
• Enda Kenny, and the way he might sing to you…

The Taoiseach joins a choir made up of civil servants from his Department singing carols inside Goverment Buildings in Dublin this afternoon. Photo: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

THINGS WE SHARED

• This terrifying/amazing video of a golden eagle snatching a child which, it turns out, is fake.
• The hashtag #IfYouKnowDublin or #IfYouKnowCork has been doing the rounds on Twitter today and we’ve been curating the best tweets.
• Christmas is coming which means it is almost time for brussels sprouts. Love ‘em or hate ‘em here is how best to prepare them according to Phantom 105.2:

YouTube: phantom1052

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