NEED TO CATCH up TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Sabina Higgins gets up close to one of the Luke Kelly's statues. Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

• Thousands of nurses went on strike across the country today. 
• Trains were delayed and motorists were urged to take care after overnight snowfall in parts of the country. 
• Tánaiste Simon Coveney said London’s latest Brexit tactic is like saying “give me what I want or I’ll jump out the window”.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Theresa May over the phone that the latest developments reinforced the need for the backstop.
• A murder trial in Dublin heard of an agony aunt letter and claims of underwear stolen from a washing line.
• Dublin City Council plans the closure of College Green for summer events.
• A man was seriously injured in an M7 road traffic collision.
• The latest homeless figures showed 3,500 children in Ireland were in emergency accommodation over Christmas.
• The Taoiseach admitted that there are unacceptable delays in driving test wait times.
• Two Luke Kelly statues were unveiled in Dublin city. 

INTERNATIONAL

A Shetland pony coping with the recent snowfall in Scotland Andrew Milligan / PA Images Andrew Milligan / PA Images / PA Images

#MISSING: Seat cushions found on a French beach are “likely” to be from the missing plane that footballer Emiliano Sala was travelling in. 

#DEEP FREEZE: Temperatures hit -28 in the US midwest as the polar vortex took hold.

#SHOCK: A top Australian horse trainer was arrested amid claims jockeys used a taser to shock horses into running faster.

PARTING SHOT

As the Brexit chaos rumbles on, Irish MEP and vice president of the European Parliament Mairéad McGuinness dished out some shade to MPs in Westminster this afternoon in Brussels.

She said that if she had her way she would ban the word “rubbish” from parliament.

“This is not the House of Commons, this is the EU house of parliament,” she said.

Too right, Mairéad.