LAST UPDATE | 13 May 2025

GOOD MORNING.

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

Donegal drowning

1. The State water safety agency has urged the Government to contact IPAS centres in order to offer educational resources following the tragic death of two teenagers who died after getting into difficulty swimming off the coast of Buncrana in Co Donegal.

Crisis averted

2. Initial analysis by government of the US-UK trade deal indicates that the potential risk to the all-island economy from differential tariff rates has been averted for now, the Tánaiste will tell Cabinet today.

First Home

3. The First Home Scheme is to be extended for another two years at Cabinet today. 

Defence Forces

4. Despite efforts to stem the flow of personnel leaving the Defence Forces the exodus continues and there is a need for a rethink on pay to stop it, the President of a military representative group has said. 

Plane crash

5. The UN aviation agency has blamed Russia for the downing of a Malaysian jetliner over Ukraine in 2014, leading to the deaths of 298 people.

Costly kids 

6. It now costs around  €15,000 per year to raise a child in Ireland now, a new survey by Laya Healthcare has found.

Trump’s deals

7. Donald Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia today on the first leg of a Gulf tour that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, eyeing business deals even as accords on the Middle East’s hotspots will likely be harder to reach.

Courts

8. A Dublin teenager accused of violent disorder and assault causing harm when he was 15 has been granted permission by the High Court to pursue a judicial review in a bid to halt his prosecution due to a reported three-year delay in the case.

Arson attacks on UK PM

9. A 21-year-old man has been arrested over suspected arson attacks on two properties owned by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.