LAST UPDATE | 16 Aug 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Bank of Ireland

1. Bank of Ireland (BOI) has said it “fell far below” the standard expected following a widespread outage of its services yesterday.

Large queues formed at ATMs across the country yesterday evening after rumours spread online that people were able to withdraw more money than they had available in their BOI accounts. 

In a statement this morning, BOI said it restored its banking services overnight and apologised for the disruption caused following the glitch with BOI’s online services. 

Accommodation crisis

2. Five students in Co Limerick were told they must pay their year’s rent, amounting to over €8,000 each, in two separate cash installments or risk being left without anywhere to stay.

In the terms and conditions of last year’s tenancy seen by The Journal, the agreement required to the students to have both payment made by October. 

This was despite the Rental Tenancies (No.2) Act of 2021 stating that a tenant cannot be forced to make upfront payments of more than two month’s rent.

Maui wildfires

3. The death toll from wildfires that ripped through the Hawaiian island of Maui has risen again to 106, according to the state’s governor.

The updated death toll came as a mobile morgue unit arrived to help Hawaii officials working painstakingly to identify those killed in the wildfires.

Russia hit by more drone attacks

4. Russia has said it shot down three Ukrainian drones southwest of Moscow, the latest in a surge of aerial attacks inside its borders.

Ukraine launched the attack at 5:00 am (2:00am Irish time) using “three unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the Kaluga region”, the Russian defence ministry said on social media site Telegram. 

RTÉ Grant Thornton report

5. Minister for Media Catherine Martin has received the second Grant Thornton report which looked at the understatement of Ryan Tubridy’s published fees by €120,000 from 2017 to 2019.

The national broadcaster has been engulfed in controversy since the first external audit, which found that RTÉ had underdeclared Tubridy’s earnings by a total of €345,000 from 2017 to 2022. 

Strike by health and social workers

6. Health and social care professionals in eight sectors are to go on strike next month following a ballot by their union, Fórsa.

HSE and section 38 workers in dietetics, orthotics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, social work and social care work will take the action on 11 September, which the union has said is partly due to the lack of implementation of a career pathway review.

Limerick death

7. Foul play has been ruled out in the case of a woman aged in her 50s found dead in Co Limerick.

The woman has been named locally as Catherine Atkinson, also known as Catherine McCarthy.

Her body was discovered in a home in the Templegreen estate in Newcastle West at about 5.10pm on Monday. 

Medical drone deliveries

7. A medical drone delivery service is set to launch in Ireland in the coming months.

Wing and Apian, which are based in the US and UK respectively, have partnered to connect healthcare providers with drone operators and services. 

Argentina election

8. The South American country has been left reeling by the surprise surge of political outsider Javier Milei to the front of the race ahead of October presidential elections.

Here are some key things to know about the brash Buenos Aires lawmaker and what his rise means for the beleaguered nation.

Japan climber

9. A Japanese climber has died and a fellow mountaineer has been injured after an apparent rock fragment hit them while trying to scale one of the highest peaks in northern Pakistan.