EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five stories you need to know by 5pm.
1. #COUNCIL OF STATE: President Michael D Higgins has this evening announced his seven nominees to the Council of State,which serves as his advisory body. There has been a positive reaction to the nominees which include community activist Ruairí McKiernan, Judge Catherine McGuinness and NUIG academic Gearóid Tuathaigh.
2. PENSIONS: The Revenue Commissioners will open its telephone service tomorrow to answer public queries about the disclosure that some holders of State pensions may be liable for extra tax. 115,000 pensioners may have to pay the tax. An Opposition TD has called the situation a “gross mismanagement” of data.
3. #CHILD BENEFIT: Almost 6,000 parents have had their child benefit payments stopped by the State as they failed to comply with the conditions for the payment. The Department of Social Protection said that the claims for 5,672 people were suspected because the parents didn’t respond to a Government check on details and entitlements.
4. #FIRE BRIGADE: Dublin firefighters have raised serious concerns about new breathing equipment, saying it has failed in several emergency situations. A union representing the firefighters said that the new breathing apparatus has collapsed in on firefighters’ faces on six occasions, leaving them without an oxygen supply. You can see pictures of the breathing equipment here.
5. #EFFIN MIRACLE: Facebook has buckled to the campaign of locals in the Limerick parish of Effin by finally allowing them to name it as their hometown – but not if they’re living overseas. A woman from Effin had complained that the social network hadn’t allowed her to include her area on her Facebook profile – apparently because it sounded like a curse word. However the real reason appears to have been that Effin is the name of a parish – not a village or town.
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