LAST UPDATE | 6 Oct 2021
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. Bethany Home survivor Derek Leinster has issued legal proceedings against the Irish State, the Minister for Children and the Attorney General, Órla Ryan reports.
Derek Leinster, who was born in Bethany Home in Dublin in 1941, has campaigned for over 20 years for the inclusion of that and other Protestant institutions in State inquiries and redress schemes.
Bethany Home was one of the 18 institutions, the majority of which were Catholic, examined as part of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.
2. The Government needs to think about balancing future spending increases with additional ways of revenue-raising as the Irish economy recovers from the pandemic, the Central Bank of Ireland has said.
Published this morning, the Central Bank’s latest Quarterly Economic Bulletin suggests the economy has already shaken off much of the immediate impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
Buoyed by a consumer spending boom and strong export performance, it now expects headline growth — as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — to jump by 15.3% this year, up from 8.4% in the Central Bank’s last bulletin, published in July.
3. HSE CEO Paul Reid and Secretary General at the Department of Health Robert Watt are to co-chair a new Sláintecare programme board in the wake of recent resignations.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Watt are due to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health this morning regarding the implementation of the health service reform programme.
Donnelly will tell the Committee that changes are to be made to the governance of Sláintecare following recent resignations and that the Government’s commitment to universal healthcare remains “absolute and unwavering”.
4. Screen Ireland has announced plans to invest €3 million in Ireland’s TV and film industry in an effort to address a growing demand for talent and crews.
The agency is announcing the stimulus measure as part of its new strategy for the next three years to drive “sustainable growth” in the Irish film industry.
Despite the challenges and production shutdowns faced by the industry over the course of the pandemic, Screen Ireland says 2021 is shaping up to “break production activity records”.
5. The Republic of Ireland international has yet to take a Covid-19 vaccine.
Robinson told a press conference he has decided not to take the vaccine, in spite of the fact he has contracted the virus twice. He missed Irish international matches on both occasions: he first tested positive in November last year, meaning he missed Ireland’s friendly with England along with subsequent Nations League games with Wales and Bulgaria.
6. An Taisce is objecting to €89 million plans by the Mater Hospital in Dublin to construct an ‘emergency’ nine-storey 98-bed Covid-19 extension block.
The Mater Hospital has lodged the plans to address what it calls “the ongoing emergency” with the development of the new purpose-built facility.
Outlining the need for the development, planning consultants for the Mater state that the hospital has experienced intense pressure during both waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 and early 2021.
7. Earlier this year, the Government announced that Ireland’s Local Property Tax (LPT) system will be changing from November.
Around 1.4 million letters are being sent to property owners across the country to explain the changes, which will apply for each year from 2022 to 2025.
The tax applies to all residential properties in the country – including vacant properties, properties that were not liable for LPT since 2013, and properties not yet registered for LPT.
Over half of homeowners will have no change to their LPT charge, but just over a third of people can expect to see an increase.
Here’s a look at what you should know about the new system, and how to ensure you’re paying the correct amount.
8. Ireland seems to be coming close to suppressing Covid-19, Professor Philip Nolan has said.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One, the chair of NPHET’s Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group said “we’re in a good place” in relation to the lifting of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions by 22 October.
“There’s nothing in the numbers at the moment that would change the advice that NPHET would have given the government towards the end of August,” Nolan said.
He said the suppression of the virus is down to the precautions the population is making and the high levels of vaccination.
9. A Confidential Contact Person is to be appointed to assist former and serving members of the Defence Forces affected by bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
It comes after Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney met with five women who took part in the RTÉ documentary Women of Honour in which allegations were made of bullying, harassment, sexual assault and rape within the Defence Forces.
Coveney announced today a Confidential Contact Person (CCP) will be available to former and serving members on a confidential basis.
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