GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know about as you start your day.
1. In our main story today, we look to help readers get a grasp of the new property tax regime.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed the details of the proposed update to the Local Property Tax (LPT) regime.
Donohoe said that just over half of homeowners will have no change to their LPT charge, with just over a third of people seeing an increase.
The context for the changes is the steady increase in the value of property since the LPT was first introduced and what the government says is the need to adjust it accordingly.
2. Next up on our list this morning is the continuing struggle for the survivors of the Mother and Baby Homes scandal.
This story centres around an online conference with the Oxford History Department. One participant was Professor Mary Daly who was one of the commissioners who worked on the report.
None of the three commissioners have spoken and it gave an opportunity to hear from one of them but what happened next left many with more questions than answers.
Astra Zeneca
3. We take a look at the news that the advice has changed on the timescale of administering AstraZeneca vaccines.
The gap between the first and second dose of the inoculation can be reduced from 12 weeks to eight, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has advised.
New advice from NIAC details that the two doses can be administered eight weeks apart.
4. The story surrounding the much anticipated Dublin Bay South also features this morning with news that Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan has joined the ticket.
Boylan’s candidacy will be approved at a local party convention on Friday but the deadline for nominations has passed with Boylan the only name going forward.
Germany
5. We head across the Atlantic for our next story with some news on former US President Donald Trump.
Trump has cancelled his own blog, an advisor announced, highlighting the ex-president and election conspiracy theorist’s struggle to escape the social media wilderness.
The blog “will not be returning,” Trump aide Jason Miller told CNBC.
North south relations
6. Back at home again as we take a look at events unfolding in the North as Sinn Féin are seeking legal advice on the DUP boycott of north-south political meetings.
Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has requested legal opinion from her department on the prospect of taking a judicial review against DUP ministers who have not engaged in recent meetings with Irish Government counterparts.
The move represents another ratcheting up of tensions within the powersharing administration in Belfast.
Space
7. We’re off to space for our next read as NASA announce plans for two robotic missions to Venus after decades of exploring other worlds.
The space agency will return to Earth’s closest neighbour which is also the solar system’s hottest planet, new Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said in his first major address to employees.
Search
8. Police in Northern Ireland have ended searches of the Clay Pits in the investigation into the murder of Lisa Dorrian.
PSNI were searching the Clay Pits in Ballyhalbert, Co Down as part of efforts to uncover the location of Lisa Dorrian’s body, who went missing 16 years ago.
The new searches began at the start of last month, with Lisa’s father John and sisters Joanne, Michelle and Ciara visiting the search site.
Housing
9. In our business news Morning Memo we take a look at the Economic and Social Research Insitute’s (ESRI) comments on the Government’s approach to the housing crisis to say that it’s not quite good enough.
After Darragh O’Brien proposed his shared equity scheme earlier this year – which involves funneling more liquidity to prospective buyers - the ESRI criticised the policy, saying that housing situation in Ireland is “so constrained” that increasing purchasing power for households “will very likely lead to higher house prices”.
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