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

IRELAND

A mural of the late Christy Dignam in Finglas Village. Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• Dozens of retained firefighters protested outside the Dáil as part of industrial action over a pay dispute.
• Tributes were paid to Jessica McLoughlin, who died after being hit by a train in Co Sligo yesterday. 
• An extra 300 taxi permits to operate at Dublin Airport have been issued to make it easier for passengers to get to and from the airport this summer.  
• Tánaiste Micheál Martin and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy shared a tense exchange in the Dáil over Ireland’s first “Consultative Forum on International Security Policy”.
• A man was arrested following the discovery of a body of a woman in Dublin 5.
• The Food Safety Authority of Ireland served a recall notice on all frozen food products of animal origin which have been imported into Iceland stores since 3 March.
• A former Stardust doorman told an inquest that there was a practice of looping a chain around the bars of exit doors after unlocking them to “trick” people into believing the doors were still locked.
• Six prisoners were charged in the west of the country for offences including serious assault, criminal damage, and drug offences.

INTERNATIONAL

President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde speaks during a press conference in Frankfurt. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#ECB The European Central Bank increased interest rates, for the eighth consecutive time, by 0.25% this morning.

#PARTYGATE Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled the UK Parliament over whether Covid-19 lockdown rules were broken in No 10, Westminster’s Privileges Committee investigation found.

#GREECE Greek rescuers scoured the Ionian Sea for survivors a day after a fishing boat overloaded with migrants capsized and sank, killing at least 78 people.

#EU ELECTIONS The EU Parliament adopted a proposal that would allocate an additional MEP seat to Ireland ahead of the 2024 European elections.

PARTING SHOT

Despite a recent run of disappointing results, Ireland will be taking part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. 

RTÉ confirmed today that song submissions for next year’s competition, which will be held in Sweden, have officially opened and will close on 29 September. 

The announcement makes no mention of The Late Late Show, which usually hosts the domestic final that sees an act chosen to send to Europe, but states that performers will be invited “to perform on television early in 2024 when a winner will be selected”.  

The announcement puts an end to speculation that Ireland could stop taking part in Eurovision altogether following our recent bad run of form.

Despite putting in a solid performance, Irish entry Wild Youth crashed out of this year’s competition in the first semi-final.

Here’s a reminder of their song, We Are One. 

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