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 In today’s 9 at 9: The Government tries to cut cost of bank rescue package; Dublin bins situation escalates; double car bombing in Iraq.

EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #EUROZONE Finance Minister Michael Noonan will meet with the European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and EU economics commissioner Olli Rehn today to discuss ways to reduce Ireland’s debt burden. Noonan is expected to discuss the issue of the €30 billion in promissory notes for the former Anglo Irish Bank, which have a high interest rate of 8.6 per cent.

2. #ALCOHOL A report on the misuse of alcohol and other drugs will be published by the Oireachtas health committee – which will suggest a ban on advertising alcohol on social networking sites and an end to below-cost alcohol bargains, the Irish Examiner says today. It also calls for tighter controls on the prescription of minor tranquilizers like benzodiazepines.

3. #BINS At an emergency meeting on issues with bin collection in Dublin last night, Dublin City Councillors supported a motion put forward by Cllr Paul McAuliffe and the Fianna Fail group about referring the situation to the Competition Authority and the Data Commissioner. In a meeting which heavily criticised council officials, Cllr McAuliffe said “from the outset there has been confusion as to what the legal nature of our relationship with Greyhound is.” Residents have said that the changeover process to Greyhound Recycling has not been managed efficiently.

4. #SLIGO The sand dune at Strandhill in Co Sligo is under threat of erosion, locals told the Irish Times. Senator Marc MacSharry has appealed to the Government in the Seanad for emergency funding to prevent an “erosion disaster”. Last year, the council received funding to protect the dunes, to the tune of €500,000. Access to the dunes from the main car park in Strandhill was closed in December.

5. #BELFAST A seventh baby at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Belfast may have been infected by Pseudomonas, RTÉ reports. It is believed the child was found to have traces of the infection on its skin yesterday and began showing symptoms last night. Three babies have died from this disease at the hospital – but the source of the infection has not yet been discovered. The hospital has undergone a deep clean.

6. #US 2012 As the US Republican primaries continue, Mitt Romney has decided to release his tax returns. They show that he earned $21.7 million in 2010, and paid about $3 million in fenderal income taxes. He also gave nearly $3 million to charity – about half of that amount to the Mormon Church. Yesterday, Romney said: “I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. I don’t think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes.”

7. #GARDAÍ A number of papers are reporting today that the human remains found by gardaí in the Wicklow mountains yesterday are those of 18-year-old Marioara Rostas, who went missing in 2008. It is believed Rostas was abducted and later murdered. However, gardaí said this morning that they could not confirm the identity of the remains found and that no one has been arrested in connection with the death.

8. #IRAQ At least 11 people have been killed in a double car bombing in Iraq. They exploded in a Shiite district in Baghdad today, coming as violence surges in the country amid an escalating political crisis a month after the US military withdrawal. This brings to 170 the people who have been killed in bomb attacks in Iraq in 2012.

9. #VIAGRA A Clare county councillor has claimed that Ireland is paying out too much for viagra – €6.3million in 2010, the Irish Sun reports today. It says Green Party Cllr Brian Meaney made the comments at the HSE West forum and said that the jump in spending of €500,000 on the drug “can no longer be justified”. He suggested that users halve their monthly dose.

Your Voice
Readers Comments
19
    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.