Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

GOOD MORNING

The 9 at 9 Nine things you should know this morning…

EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning coffee.

1. #BAILOUT: Ireland’s performance against targets set out in the IMF/EU bailout deal will be revealed in a report to be published this morning. The document prepared by the European Commission is expected to show that we’re on track to reduce our deficit as planned, according to data from the second quarter of this year.

2. #CHILD ABUSE: The State will pay out as much as €35million for religious orders’ legal fees, which mounted up during the proceedings of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. The payouts – which come on top of around €22million already paid towards the orders’ legal bill – were agreed when the inquiry was set up more than ten years ago, the Irish Times reports.

3. #RACE FOR THE ÁRAS: Fine Gael has lifted its party-wide ban on councillors backing Independent candidates for nomination to the presidency, potentially opening the door to more presidential hopefuls three weeks before the closing date, the Irish Times reports. According to the Irish Independent, Dana Rosemary Scallon has been sounding out support among Independent and Fianna Fáil TDs.

4. #PROPERTY: Remember the 100 per cent mortgage? Well, they’re back – at least in the North, where Northern Bank has begun offering the controversial products to first-time buyers, reports Bimpe Archer in the Irish News. One chartered surveyor warned the paper that the move could herald a return to “boom and bust” economics.

5. #JOBBRIDGE: Training agency Fás has removed some positions advertised on the government’s JobBridge internship website as they were “not in accordance” with the scheme’s aims, the Irish Times reports. The news comes after a number of controversies over posts advertised on the site, including a “safety assistant” for Aer Lingus and an apprentice, er, vajazzler.

6. #DÁIL BAR: Pity our poor politicians – they’re just not getting as much time to relax as they used to. Sales at the Dáil bar slumped by more than €33,000 in 2009, reports Catherine Halloran in the Irish Daily Star. However, our leaders still managed to get through 121 kegs of Guinness, 39 of Heineken and 84 litres of gin.

7. #OBAMA: US President Barack Obama has unveiled a huge ‘jobs stimulus’ plan worth almost $450million (€325million). The proposals would see infrastructure spending boosted, payroll taxes halved and layoffs of teachers halted. Addressing Congress last night, Obama called on US lawmakers to “stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy”, Bloomberg reports.

8. #9/11: Authorities in New York have stepped up security after receiving a “specific, credible but unconfirmed” terror threat in the run-up to the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, AFP reports. The news comes as previously unheard audio recordings from the hijacked aeroplanes and air traffic control as the attacks unfolded were released yesterday.

9. #SLOGAN: Hear about the two presidential candidates that had the same slogan? Well, after the Mary Davis and Gay Mitchell campaigns revealed something of a lack of creativity yesterday, we’ve decided to give them a helping hand – by inviting you to come up with your own suggested presidential slogans.

Your Voice
Readers Comments
1
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.