LAST UPDATE | 7 Mar 2023

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day. 

Eviction Ban

1. Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson has said the coalition leaders’ plan to end the eviction ban will see more people becoming homeless from next month, with other opposition politicians and housing activists also condemning the move.

The existing eviction ban was due to expire at the end of this month but there had been significant pressure from opposition parties to extend the moratorium. 

Hydropower

2. A report by Noteworthy investigates barriers along the River Shannon as deaths recorded at ESB stations and salmon hatcheries.

There have been huge declines in fish stocks over the last century and fish passes along many Irish rivers are not fit for purpose.

Cold snap

3. Temperatures dipped to -3 degrees in some parts overnight, while a Status Yellow warning for ice will remain in place for the entire country until 10am.

The latest weather reports from Met Éireann show that the mercury fell to -2 degrees in Co Cavan, Dublin, Mayo, Meath and Westmeath.

However, the coldest overnight temperature of -3.4 degrees was recorded at the Mount Dillon weather station in Co Roscommon.

Drone disruption

4. The Government will be asked to approve plans to appoint Dublin Airport operator DAA as the operator of counter-drone technology at the airport. 

Flight activity at the airport was briefly suspended last Thursday due to drone activity, the sixth such disruption in as many weeks.

Data breaches

5. An Garda Síochána and the Fastway delivery firm are among the organisations that were reprimanded over data breaches, according to a watchdog’s annual report.

Gardaí reported a breach to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) involving the names and addresses of 108 individuals, some of whom were children, processed at Kilmainham Garda Station.

Indonesia

6. Rescuers on a remote Indonesian island are searching for dozens of people still missing after a landslide that killed 15 people, according to a a disaster response agency official.

Poor weather and downed communication lines have complicated rescue efforts on the island of Serasan in the Natuna region between Borneo and peninsular Malaysia, home to about 8,000 people.

Eurovision 2023

7.Tickets for the Eurovision song contest in Liverpool go on sale at 12pm today.

Liverpool was chosen to host this year’s competition on behalf of war-torn 2022 winner Ukraine.

Tickets can only be purchased through Ticketmaster and prices range from £30 (€34) for family rehearsals to £380 (€428) for the grand final.

Escobar’s hippos

8. The governor of a region of Colombia where a herd of some 150 hippos are breeding out of control said he hopes for the greenlight to send half of them to sanctuaries in India and Mexico.

The hippos are the descendants of animals once owned by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.

Rocket launch fail

9. Japan’s second attempt to launch its next-generation H3 rocket failed after lift-off this morning, with the space agency issuing a destruct command after concluding the mission could not succeed.

The failure is a blow for Japan’s space agency JAXA, which has billed the rocket as a flexible and cost-effective new flagship.