EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #JOBS The government may have to hire thousands of teachers to fill the gaps left by retiring staff next month. The Irish Times reports today that more teachers than expected decided to leave before pension changes take place in February, leading to the government undertaking ‘targeted recruitment’. Meanwhile, bailout chiefs have ordered the Government to cut 2,500 bank jobs to help with internal restructuring, the Irish Independent says.
2. #FLEADH CHEOIL Derry has lost in its bid to host the Fleadh Cheoil, which is the world’s biggest Irish music festival, the Irish News reports this morning. It says the decision was based on the recent dissident republican bomb attacks in Derry, which took place on Thursday. The paper quotes Senator Labhras O Murchu, the Director of Comhaltas, as saying he was surprised at the decision – and extremely disappointed.
3. #TIT BONHOMME The search resumes this morning for the bodies of two fishermen from the Tit Bonhomme trawler. Yesterday, a third body was recovered by local divers. Saied aly Eldin (24) and Michael Hayes, the 52-year-old skipper of the trawler, are still missing after the trawler hit rocks at Glandore Harbour in west Cork a week ago.
4. #FINANCIAL BOMB Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said yesterday that the troika warned a “bomb will go off in Dublin” unless the Irish Government paid back more than €1 billion due to bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank. He used the terms in an interview on The Week in Politics on RTÉ television last night.
5. #CHINA The Chinese New Year was ushered in at midnight, with celebrations taking place around the world. The Lunar New Year – which is also the Year of the Dragon – was welcomed in Ireland during the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, which included the Irish premiere of The Opera, a work on traditional Peking Opera, at the Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar.
6. #DROGHEDA A Fine Gael TD claims he was prevented from addressing a rally organised by the Save Drogheda Cottage Hospital yesterday. He told the Irish Times that ‘fascist thugs’ prevented him and fellow TDs Peter Fitzpatrick and Gerald Nash from speaking. The three TDs had decided not to sign a pledge which would have led to them agreeing to vote against the Government on the closure of the hospital.
7. #EUROZONE Michael Noonan will join his fellow eurozone finance ministers in Brussels today for further discussions on the new EU fiscal treaty, as well as talks on the restructuring of Greek debt. Finance ministers will decide what terms of Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept amid wranglings over what level of losses private bondholders will take.
8. #SYRIA Syria has rejected a new Arab League plan aimed at ending the country’s 10-month crisis. The news comes after Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al Thani said that the Arab League was launching a new initiative to solve the crisis. More than 5,400 people have died during the revolts.
9. #CINEMA Following the reopening of the Lighthouse cinema in Dublin’s Smithfield area comes the news that a 12-screen Odeon cinema will open near the O2 in Dublin in March. The Irish Times says that owner Harry Crosbie said it will employ 75 people when finished.
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