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

IRELAND

Taoiseach Leo Vardakar with councillor Ray McAdam while at the opening of Salesforce Tower in North Dock Dublin Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• Claire Byrne has removed herself from the running to replace Ryan Tubridy as presenter of RTÉ’s The Late Late Show.
• RTÉ News anchor Caitriona Perry has announced she is leaving the national broadcaster to take up a new role with the BBC in the US.
• A cost of construction review that went to Cabinet today shows that construction costs of the same type of houses built in Birmingham are 21% to 29% lower than a typical house built in Dublin.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the Government will examine mortgage interest relief as part of the next Budget, as the European Central Bank confirmed a further interest rate hike.
• Varadkar has said People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy’s request for a Dáil questions and answers session about his involvement in a protest in Jobstown in 2014 should be facilitated. 
• Nurses are set to vote on the holding of a national ballot on industrial action shortly.
• Further pen portraits have been read out at the seventh day of the Stardust fire inquest. 
• The landowner of Howth Estate in north Dublin, where the megalithic tomb Aideen’s Grave is located, will no longer allow guided tours to the site.

INTERNATIONAL

Two dogs wait patiently for their owners at a polling station for the local elections in Dedworth, Windsor Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#INTEREST: The European Central Bank has raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points.

#COPYRIGHT: Ed Sheeran has won a US copyright lawsuit which alleged he copied parts of Marvin Gaye’s hit song Let’s Get It On for his own track Thinking Out Loud.

#TRUMP: Jurors heard Donald Trump blast a woman who accused him of rape as a “nut job” and “mentally sick” in a video recording that was shown today during the trial of her federal lawsuit.

#ELECTION: Campaigners in England have reported “countless examples” of would-be voters being turned away from polling stations on the first elections where photo identification is mandatory.

PARTING SHOT

In the latest in-depth series by investigative platform Noteworthy, investigative reporter Alice Chambers examines how the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) handles public complaints and uncovers a process that is slow, lacking in transparency and enforcement powers.

This week, in an episode of The Explainer brought to you by Noteworthy, Mick Clifford joins the podcast. The Examiner columnist and investigative journalist has reported extensively on the Garda watchdog over many years. 

Presenter Susan Daly also chats with Chambers about her investigation’s findings. 
https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/by-noteworthy-is-gsoc-fit-for-purpose