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

IRELAND

From left: Dr Simone Fezzi, Prof Faisal Sharif and Dr Max Wagener as Galway University Hospitals carried out the first robotic guided coronary intervention in Ireland and the UK Saolta University Healthcare Group Saolta University Healthcare Group

• A large number of children and adolescents seeking mental health treatment don’t receive necessary follow-up care, a new report has found.
• A man accused of causing permanent and “life-long lasting deformities” to a Garda’s finger following a traffic stop in Dublin has been granted €1,500 bail.
• The INMO has called for a full security audit of all hospitals following a fatal attack of an elderly patient in Cork yesterday.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have spoken by phone this afternoon and discussed the Northern Ireland Protocol. 
• Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has appointed a new Deputy Chairperson of An Bord Pleanála, six months on from the resignation of Paul Hyde.
• Dublin City Council has refused permission for plans for a controversial new restaurant and guesthouse at Merchant’s Arch.
• Two teenage boys have been arrested and charged following a series of alleged dangerous driving incidents in Kildare and Dublin. 
• The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has appealed for “immediate support” to recover the national blood supply.
• Money app Revolut is to start offering Irish bank account details in the coming months. 

INTERNATIONAL

Ambulance workers in England have launched a fresh strike today in an escalating dispute over pay and staffing Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#JOB CUTS: Spotify has announced that it is cutting 6% of its roughly 10,000 employees.

#UKRAINE: Poland has said it is willing to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine without approval, but would first seek permission from Berlin.

#ZAHAWI: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ordered an investigation into Nadhim Zahawi as the Tory party chairman faced growing calls to quit after paying a penalty to resolve a multimillion-pound tax dispute.

PARTING SHOT

M&Ms has announced an “indefinite pause” on its use of the iconic “spokescandy” mascots, amid controversy and polarisation.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the brand addressed an open letter to customers in the US, saying: “America, let’s talk. In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet.

“But now we get it — even a candy’s shoes can be polarising. Which was the last thing M&M’s wanted, since we’re all about bringing people together.”

The startling policy change follows a year of intermittent campaigning by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has criticised recent changes made to the M&M’s mascots as “woke”. Specifically, Carlson has criticised the decision to change the shoes of the female Green M&M from high go-go boots to a more sensible sneaker-style shoe.

A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o

— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023