GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. Ashling Murphy
The funeral of Ashling Murphy will be held in Co Offaly today, and schools will hold a minute’s silence at 11am in her memory.
2. Restrictions
Cabinet may meet on Friday of this week to make a call on the further easing of restrictions, it is understood. The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet on Thursday and have been asked by government to consider easing restrictions on hospitality and working from home.
3. Tonga
Thick ash on an airport runway is delaying aid deliveries to the Pacific island nation of Tonga, where significant damage was being reported days after a huge undersea volcanic eruption and tsunami.
New Zealand’s military is sending much-needed drinking water and other supplies, but said the ash on the runway will delay the flight by at least a day.
4. Court ruling
A judge has praised a Cork woman for her “articulate” victim-impact statement after her brother was jailed for seven years for raping her repeatedly over a three-year period.
“All I wanted to do is to hand all the hurt, pain and anger I’ve been living with all these years to the person that caused it all. I can’t live with that pain anymore.”
On her 30th birthday she reported the matter to Gardaí as she couldn’t live with it any longer: “I did this for all the people out there in the same situation as me. I did it for all them so that they might have the courage to speak out.”
5. Housing
Fewer new homes were added to an Irish address database in 2021 than in 2020, but more residential buildings were under construction at the end of last year compared to the same time in 2020.
The Residential Buildings Report prepared by EY showed that 18,047 new residential addresses were added to the GeoDirectory database in 2021 – a 17.4% decrease on 2020.
6. Dean Verberckmoes
Dutch police have discovered the body of a Belgian child last night, whose disappearance five days ago sparked a massive search spanning two countries.
7. Partygate
Dominic Cummings has accused Boris Johnson of lying to the UK Parliament over allegations of lockdown-breaching bashes in Downing Street, insisting he told the British Prime Minister to get a grip on the “madhouse” when warning him over one “drinks party” – and said he’s prepared to swear under oath as such.
8. Recovery
Britain’s unemployment rate dropped and payrolls recovered further at the end of last year despite the onset of the Omicron variant, official data has shown.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in the three months to the end of November, from 4.2% in the quarter ending in October, the Office for National Statistics said today.
9. Post-match analysis
Australian Open organisers have said they “deeply regret” the impact that the Novak Djokovic deportation saga had on other players and admitted there were “lessons to learn”.
The unvaccinated men’s world number one flew out of Melbourne on Sunday after he failed in a last-gasp court bid to stay and play in the opening Grand Slam of the year, where he was targeting a record 21st major title.
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