EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #FIRE The two-year-old boy who died in a house fire in Cork yesterday morning has been named in a number of this morning’s papers as Cian Ellard, aged two. The Irish Sun says he died in his mother’s arms, having been found cradled on top of his unconscious mum, named by locals as Stacey Ellard. Ms Ellard and her son Calvin (4) are fighting for their life in hospital.
2. #ESB The Government has rejected a ‘generous’ severance offer for 700 staff the ESB is aiming to let go, today’s Irish Independent is reporting. The staff would be taking voluntary redundancy, and the company is hoping to shed another 300 staff through retirements and help cut costs.
3. #GREECE The outgoing ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has told the BBC that in hindsight he believed the eurozone governments “should have applied rigorously the rules that existed in the euro zone area” to Greece before it joined the Euro. But he said that “benign neglect” allowed the country in.
4. #BEGGING Gardaí have arrested 540 people under the “aggressive begging” legislation, which was introduced in February, the Irish Times reports today. The paper says that two-thirds of those arrested are ‘foreign nationals’, mainly Roma Gypsies. There is also an investigation into organised begging, under which six people have been arrested so far.
5. #MARATHON The Dublin Marathon gets underway this morning at 9.45am- those living in the capital city can expect delays and road closures, the AA says. Among the record 14,000 people taking part is elite distance runner Moses Kangogo Kibet, who will defend his 2010 title and time of 2.08.58. It all kicks off at Fitzwilliam Street Upper and will finish in Merrion Square North.
6. #PRESIDENT HIGGINS President Michael D Higgins received a warm welcome in his home city of Galway yesterday. The Irish Times reports that around 5,000 people turned out to greet the President-elect. He spoke of his love for Galway and Ireland, and of the “wonderful future for all of us in this country”.
7. #REFERENDUM Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Seán Fleming, has said the failure of the Referendum on the Oireachtas inquries is due to the “arrogant approach [Ministers] Alan Shatter and Brendan Howlin took to the entire process”. Today’s Irish Examiner and Irish Times report that Minister Howlin has tried to clarify the comments he made about High Court Judge Bryan McMahon ‘causing confusion’ among voters, saying that he referred to the chairman as “shorthand for the views of the commission”.
8. #ARRESTS Gardaí investigating the death of Darren Falsey (36) in Carrigaline, Co Cork on 3 August 2011 arrested two men this morning. The victim was shot several times in the house where he lived with his partner and children. Two weeks ago, gardaí found a handgun in woods in north Cork that was used to kill Falsey.
9. #GP COSTS Depending on where you live, you could pay anything from €35 to €65 for a GP visit. The Irish Patients’ Association tells today’s Irish Daily Mail that some patients are even avoiding going to the doctor because of the cost.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say