LAST UPDATE | 7 Jul 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Boris Johnson

1. The UK government’s Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has resigned from his post this morning as calls continue for Boris Johnson to step down from his role as prime minister.

Three other government members have resigned this morning, signalling discontent that Johnson has not already left office.  

In his resignation letter, Lewis said that the government requires “honesty, integrity and mutual respect”. 

Active shooter training

2. In this morning’s early lead story, Niall O’Connor reports that specialist firearms gardaí have trained for active shooter attacks in a school and other possible public locations.

Sources told The Journal that Ireland has a protocol created by the Special Tactics and Operations Command to deal with shooting situations like those frequent in the United States.

The protocol directs armed gardaí to immediately enter buildings and deal with the armed attacker.

Uvalde

3. A new report into the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas has outlined how police failed to act on opportunities that might have saved lives.

The report details that some of the 21 victims “could have been saved” if they had received medical attention sooner while police waited more than an hour to breach the classroom.

The Uvalde massacre is the deadliest school shooting in the US since Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. 

Leo Varadkar

4. No charges are set to be brought against Tánaiste Leo Varadkar over the leaking of an agreement between the government and Irish Medical Organisation.

Gardaí confirmd yesterday evening that the Director of Public Prosecutions has directed not to prosecute after receiving a “comprehensive” investigation file.

Varadkar said that he is “pleased at the outcome” of the investigation.   

Dáil

5. The government lost its Dáil majority last night as Donegal TD Joe McHugh resigned the Fine Gael Whip.

McHugh voted against the Government’s proposed mica redress legislation, saying that the bill still needs improvement and that “insufficient time” had went into debating it. 

It left the government with 79 TDs, one short of the required 80 for a majority within the Dáil. 

Economy

6. The Central Bank has revised down its forecast for the economy’s growth in the coming years.

The impact of the war in Ukraine, high inflation and heightened uncertainty are lowering confidence and causing consumers and businesses to reduce spending, according to the regulator.

The bank revised its growth forecast for this year, next year and 2024 to 4.3%, 4.2% and 3.8% respectively.

Environmental destruction

7. A cross-border investigation has revealed serious environmental and air quality concerns from ammonia produced by the poultry industry.

An expert said that “precious species and habitats have been ruined and nobody seems to be paying any attention”.

Monkeypox

8. The World Health Organisation plans to reconvene its monkeypox emergency committee to decide if the outbreak constitues a global public health emergency.

More than 6,000 cases have been confirmed in 58 countries, including 39 in Ireland.

Australia floods

9. Floodwaters are receding in Sydney but heavy rain threatens to inundate towns north of the city.

Evacuation orders and official warnings to prepare to abandon homes were given to 60,000 people for today, slightly down from 85,000 yesterday.

Around 50 rescues were made in the past day, several of which involved people stranded in cars in floodwaters.