EACH WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you should know before you head out the door.
1. #ABORTION: It’s now day two of the government’s debate of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill following an all-night session last night to debate a wide range of amendments. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin had slammed the situation as ‘farcical’ but the Taoiseach has said Dáil will sit again tomorrow if necessary – although he’s “hopeful” a final vote will he held as part of today’s proceedings.
Meanwhile, UK medical statistics released this morning outlined the number of terminations carried out in England and Wales last year – confirming that 3,982 women gave addresses in the Republic of Ireland when attending clinics and hospitals.
2. #APOLOGY: Fine Gael TD Tom Barry has apologised for grabbing party colleague Áine Collins and forcing her to sit on his lap during a break in the debate of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill last night: “What I did last night was disrespectful and inappropriate… No excuses, I just shouldn’t have done it,” Barry said today. In a separate statement, Fine Gael’s General Secretary Tom Curran described Barry’s conduct as “unacceptable”.
3. #JOBS: Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is to invest €100 million in two manufacturing sites in Ireland, creating an estimated 250 construction jobs. The company said it is to expand two sites, one in Clondalkin in Dublin and the other in Ringaskiddy in Cork, over the next two years.
4. #BULLYING: The special rapporteur on child protection Dr Geoffrey Shannon has recommended that cyber-bullying be made a crime in his sixth report to the Oireachtas today. Meanwhile, the Royal College of Surgeons today published new research demonstrating a link between exposure to traumatic events in childhood, including physical assault and bullying, and psychotic experiences.
5. #EMPLOYMENT: JobBridge – the Government’s flagship employment programme – cost €54,739,000 last year, according to figures released today from the Department of Social Protection. The cost of the scheme has pushed the government’s total employment supports bill up by 10 per cent.
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