LAST UPDATE | 28 Jul 2020

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #BACK TO SCHOOL: Opposition TDs have raised concerns over teacher supports and class sizes following the Government’s announcement of a re-opening plan for schools.

2. #STUDY: New research by the ESRI has found that workers in many essential jobs are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, due to their health, age, or where they live.

3. #THOMAS MCCARTHY: Gardaí in Dublin are investigating whether a man shot dead yesterday was the intended target of “a meticulously planned assassination”.

4. #BELFAST: A “suspect device” has been left outside a Sinn Féin office in west Belfast, according to a local MP.

5. #RENT FREEZE: The Dáil will debate a bill today that would extend protections for renters – such as a ban on evictions and rent increases – who have lost income due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

6. #DEPENDENCY: Figures from the Health Research Board show that over 7,500 cases of problem alcohol use were treated last year, a slight increase on 2018.

7. #US: Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have asked a judge to stop her accusers from using evidence in the criminal case against her, arguing they could use it to boost civil lawsuits by posting material to the internet.

8. #CURFEW: Belgium’s second city of Antwerp has announced a nighttime curfew as the country toughened social-distancing and mask wearing rules to stem a flare-up in new cases of Covid-19.

9. #HONOURED: Irish author Colum McCann has been longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for his novel Apeirogon.