Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you really need to know by 9am.
1. #LIBYA: Muammar Gaddafi is understood to have accepted a ceasefire deal negotiated by five other leaders from the African Union. South Africa’s Jacob Zuma and others had travelled to Tripoli in attempts to outline a “road map” to peace in the country.
2. #QUANGOS: The cabinet is today expected to sign off on a major review of government spending which could see the number of so-called quangos slashed, the Irish Times reports. The meeting could also approve the selling-off of some major state assets.
3. #MORIARTY: The Moriarty Tribunal’s recommendations on political fundraising could be given legal effect under a new bill being published today by Fianna Fáil. The bill will demand that parties publicly declare any corporate donations worth over €100 within 14 days of receiving them; the party says an outright ban would be unconstitutional.
4. #HSE: The arduous two-year recruitment process for a Chief Operations Officer at the HSE could be facing further turmoil, with the service warning that it will have to offer a salary of over €200,000 in order to attract enough top-quality candidates. The Department of Health, however, is opposed to offering any more than the current rate of €183,774.
5. #GARDA: The annual conference of the Garda Representative Association kicks off in Westport today, with concerns over the effects of a recruitment ban topping the agenda. The association opposes plans to reduce the force’s strength, RTÉ reports, with that could be creating a ‘generation gap’ in the force
6. #BELVOIR PARK: Northern Ireland’s main cancer hospital was abandoned while over 20,000 patient documents and records remained stashed inside, the Irish News reports. The records from the facility at Belvoir Park are now surfacing online, with some people even selling the macabre documents on eBay.
7. #LOAD OF BULL: Navan Town Council will this month unveil a new statue of a bull – which cost the council a whopping €90,000. The Irish Daily Mail explains that the 16-tonne sculpture was commissioned in 2002, but has prompted a public petition of 4,500 signatures opposing such spending in the current climate.
8. #MASTERS: Charl Schwartzel has become the latest unlikely winner of a golfing Major, as the hitherto unknown South African carded a final day 66 – including birdies on the last four holes – to finish on 14 under, two clear of Australian pair Jason Day and Adam Scott. Rory McIlroy, who led with nine shots to go, had a miserable back nine – dropping six shots in three holes – and finished ten shots off the pace.
9. #COFFEE: Many of us could be carrying a genetically-inherited addiction to the trusty coffee that gets many of us out of bed and into work on time, it has emerged. Researchers have identified two particular genes which apparently have an influence in how much coffee we like to drink – and which could be holding many of us to ransom in demanding a hot cup of caffeine before our brains kick into gear.
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