The 9 at 9 Taoiseach to remotely Ukraine Coalition of the Willing, data centre water usage almost doubles during summer months, and NI Secretary to make first official visit to Dublin

GOOD MORNING.

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

Data centre water usage

1. Data centre water use has almost doubled during the summer months compared to the start of the year, according to new figures from Uisce Éireann.

Rents

2. Market rents rose by 1.4% between March and June of this year, which is significantly lower than the record high seen in the first quarter of 2026, according to a Daft.ie study.

Ukraine

3. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is hosting a meeting of Ukraine’s European allies in Kyiv today, which Taoiseach Micheál Martin will join remotely

Chris Bryant

4. The Northern Ireland Secretary is to meet with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan and foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee on his first official visit to Dublin.

Waste not, want not

5. A new law on repairing products will come into force. The EU law, which is transposed into Irish law today, introduces a right to repair and seeks to facilitate repairs instead of replacing products to reduce waste.

Consumer watchdog

6. Home and garden store Rathwood, which entered examinership earlier this year, was the most-complained about retailer over the past six months.

Social media ban

7. New Zealand has introduced legislation to ban under 16s from using social media, joining a number of countries seeking to keep youngsters off sites such as Instagram and TikTok.

Oberstown

8. The director of Oberstown Children Detention Campus called for a “ceasefire” in an ongoing industrial relations dispute with staff.

The Traitors

9. This Sunday, The Traitors Ireland returns for its second season, after its first run proved to be a major success. Here’s what to expect from season two.

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