LAST UPDATE | 9 Jan 2025

GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news to know as your start your day.

1. Freezing temperatures

A Status Orange low temperature and ice warning is in place for 25 counties in the Republic this morning after temperatures overnight fell to as low as -7 degrees.

Met Éireann has said it will remain extremely cold with widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow, which could potentially result in dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot, travel disruption and delays and animal welfare issues.

Weather stations in Athenry and Mullingar recorded temperatures of -7 degrees during the night, with many other parts of the country also experiencing subzero conditions.

2. Energy department

There are split views among the government formation negotiating teams on whether to move the issue of energy out of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and over to the Department of Enterprise.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael discussed housing and energy yesterday, with significant time spent on the question of whether energy should be moved to a different government department.

3. Homeless services

Homeless services have ramped up operations to try to help homeless people during the cold snap, which can be a “life and death situation”. 

4. Air traffic

Irish air traffic controllers have issued a strongly-worded warning for pilots and aircraft professionals to show them “respect and dignity” after an incident of “abusive behaviour”.

5. Connolly Station

A man was arrested and a suspected firearm seized by gardaí following an incident at Connolly Station in Dublin yesterday evening.

Shortly after 6.20pm, gardaí received a report of a male passenger onboard a commuter rail service arriving into Connolly Station that had been observed to be in possession of a suspected firearm. The individual is not alleged to have made any threat towards any passenger onboard.

6. Donegal

Gardaí are investigating “all of the circumstances” surrounding the discovery of a man’s body at a vacant property in Co Donegal yesterday afternoon.

The man has not yet been identified and has been removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Letterkenny for a post-mortem examination.

7. Plastic cups

Event venues in Belfast are eliminating single-use plastic cups.

Venues in Belfast including the Waterfront Hall, Ulster Hall, SSE Arena, Oh Yeah Centre, Black Box, Voodoo and The MAC will all introduce reusable cups in the coming months as part of a 12-month pilot.

8. Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden said he thinks he could have been re-elected if he had stayed in the White House race but conceded he was unsure if he would have served another full term.

9. UK

UK politicians have overwhelmingly rejected a bid by the Tories to push for another national inquiry into grooming gangs that would have delayed legislation on children’s wellbeing.