EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five stories you need to know as you head out the door.
1. #TRAVEL ALLOWANCES: Kieran Coughlan, the chairman of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, has revealed that the Commission is questioning the government’s legal advice on whether politicians’ travel expenses can be used to cover travel other than commuting to and from Dublin, and around their constituencies. The comments came after advice from the Attorney General said it was acceptable for Socialist Party member Joe Higgins to use his travel allowance to cover travel around the country, helping to organise events opposing the household charge.
2. #JOBSWATCH: It has been a mixed day for jobs: this afternoon, Portuguese chicken specialists Nando’s said it will be creating 100 new jobs with the opening of two new restaurants in Dublin - meanwhile Co-operative Poultry Products in Cavan announced its closure with the loss of 90 jobs.
3. #HILLSBOROUGH: Sir Norman Bettison, a senior serving police officer implicated in the Hillsborough disaster 23 years ago, ‘boasted’ of his role in smearing fans and saying they were responsible for the disaster, British Labour MP Maria Eagle has claimed. Eagle used parliamentary privilege to claim that Bettison had bragged of a plot to frame the Liverpool fans and deflect blame from the force for the tragedy. Bettison is currently under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
4. #ARMSTRONG: President the International Cycling Union, Pat McQuaid, says the organisation could not have been involved in a cover-up to help Lance Armstrong – as the American cyclist never actually tested positive. In his first major radio interview since Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, McQuaid said that while some of Armstrong’s tests had presented suspicious results, there had never been a positive test on which they could act.
5. #DERRY: The city of Derry has claimed fourth place in the Lonely Planet Best in Travel city list for 2013. The accolade comes as Derry prepares for its turn as the UK’s City of Culture, citing a “packed calendar”. The travel guide says the “vibrant, historic walled city is undergoing a renaissance.”
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