LAST UPDATE | 25 Apr 2025

GOOD MORNING.

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

1. Airbnb

Two-thirds of all Airbnb listings in Ireland are for entire properties, according to new research by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

The research examined short-term let usage across the country in the month of September in the years 2019, 2022 and 2023.

The report is a rare insight into the scale of Airbnbs in Ireland, finding that despite an increase in the number of short-term lets listed since 2019, it is not the “root cause” of the current shortage of rental properties across the country.  

2. Intel

The Minister for Employment has said that Leixlip Intel staff and their families are “extremely concerned” amid global workforce cuts at the company and uncertainty about how its Irish operations might be affected.

The tech company has confirmed that it intends to downsize its worker base but has not yet provided details about whether its Leixlip campus will be hit.

In a statement this morning, Minister Peter Burke said he is engaging with Intel at what is a “difficult time for staff in the midst of continued uncertainty”.

3. Pope Francis

President Michael D. Higgins will pay his respects to Pope Francis later today.

The pope died on Monday morning and has been lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica since Wednesday morning.

4. Gaza

Rescue teams and medics in Gaza have said Israeli air strikes killed at least 55 people yesterday, as the military threatened an even larger offensive if hostages were not freed soon.

Israel resumed its military assault in the Gaza Strip on 18 March after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire that had brought a temporary halt to fighting in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

5. School shelter in Ukraine

An underground school shelter in Ukraine has been officially opened with the help of funding from the Irish government.

Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne visited Odesa yesterday to open the shelter, which was co-funded by Ireland with Lithuania and the European Commission.

6. Kashmir

Pakistan has warned it could suspend a critical peace treaty with India in the wake of recent violence in the disputed province of Kashmir, with tensions between the two nations continuing to escalate.

Pakistan said it may suspend the Simla Agreement between the two countries, which is a significant peace treaty signed after the 1971 India-Pakistan war in which Pakistan and India agreed to settle future differences through peaceful bilateral negotiations, without third-party intervention or violence.

7. Freemasons’ Hall

The Freemasons have launched an investigation after it emerged that the organisation’s signature Freemasons’ Hall in Dublin was the setting for a music video by an artist on Conor McGregor’s label that included a scene of a simulated assault on a character made up to resemble the British Queen.

The fresh controversy follows the revelation last week that the city centre venue was used by Conor McGregor for his sit-down interview with US host Tucker Carlson.

8. Pollution

Bad smells and water pollution have dominated compliance failures found by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspections last year.

A report on its investigations in 2024 revealed that waste companies, as well as food and drink companies continue to cause the most concern.

9. Burglary

A Dublin man who was a silversmith to the Pope had his collection robbed from his studio over the Easter weekend.

Seamus Gill, a renowned silversmith and jewellery designer, asked the public to look out for unique silver pieces that may belong to him as he spent years working on some of the pieces, which he says are irreplaceable.

He told RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland: “Over Easter weekend, I was robbed of everything I had in it.