Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning coffee.
1. #BLOODBATH BUDGET The government has admitted budget cutbacks will be around €4.5 billion. But then again they could be €7 billion. Or €3 billion, the Irish Times reports. Meanwhile, a group of international economists are meeting in Dublin today to discuss alternative strategies to rescue the economy.
2. #BREAKING: A freight ship and a passenger ferry have collided in Amsterdam. The vessel “ran over” the ferry and a number of passengers are in the water, Dutch state broadcaster NOS reported.
3. #POLITICS: Fine Gael has outlined plans for a slimmed-down civil service, a new cabinet minister for public sector reform and the abolition of the HSE.
4. #GHOST ESTATES: Developers will be forced to finish off ghost estates, the Examiner claims.
5. #COURTS: The man who alleges he was beaten by four gardai while he lay in bed and his mother was locked in the bathroom of their flat says he cannot explain discrepancies between his evidence in court and statements he made to the garda Ombudsman. Owen Gaffney also admitted a previous conviction for breaking a garda’s jaw, thought he said he was not the one responsible for the injury, despite pleading guilty in court.
6. #SAD: Emilia Adami will now be able to bring home the body of her husband, Stefan, who hanged himself over an unpaid electricity bill, after members of the public donated more than €14,000, the Independent reports.
7. #GOOGLE: Bloomberg reports that Google’s use of a tax loophole known as the ‘Double Irish’ allows it to pay just 2.4 per cent tax.
8. #WASTE: The HSE has launched an investigation into 21 overseas trips taken by the Health Service Partnership Forum, a body involving union and management representatives. The HSE says these trips are in addition to the 31 visits associated with the Skill programme.
8. #KANGAROO CRUELTY: An Australian living in Ireland has offered a €10,000 reward to catch the people who took the kangaroo to the Clarion Hotel birthday party, the Irish Daily Star reports.
9. #IS HOMER A CATHOLIC? Absolutely not, say the producers of The Simpsons, in direct conflict with the Pope’s official newsletter, L’Osservatore Romano, which stated that Homer and Bart were followers. Al Jean, executive producer of television show, said the pair only considered converting for one episode – The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest – aired in 2005.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say