EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of all the day’s main news as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

Race for the Áras…

• David Norris has had to deal with more controversy today, this time surrounding the disability pension he claimed for 16 years. He revealed that he received the allowance because of a Hepatitis diagnosis but insisted he is healthy enough to be the next president.
• Martin McGuinness has followed the transparency shown by Mary Davis and Seán Gallagher by publishing personal documents pertaining to his finances. In this case, the Sinn Féin candidate has published his bank statements for August and September, showing how much he earns.
• Dana Rosemary Scallon has been defending her stance on Europe, abortion and family values in an interview this evening. Here’s what she had to say.
• Missed last night’s much talked about presidential debate on TV3? Well here’s what happened in our liveblog and when you’ve read that or watched it back, vote in our poll to decide who won the debate. So far Martin McGuinness leads the way.

In today’s other news…

• A man has been arrested in connection with the house fire in Boyle, Co Roscommon earlier this week which killed a five-year-old girl. Gardaí have been treating the fire as suspicious.
• Bertie Ahern has claimed over €350,000 in expenses since leaving office, it has been revealed. The figures relate largely to his employment of secretarial assistants.
• The unemployment rate in Ireland dropped slightly in September with over 5,000 less people signing on the Live Register.
• Newly qualified primary school teachers will be able to complete the mandatory 100 days of probation in the classroom on the government’s JobBridge scheme, it has been announced.
• In other good news for those looking for employment, redundant construction workers are set to benefit from a new multi-million euro investment by the European Commission.
• Social Justice Ireland has proposed an Alternative Budget with adjustments of €3.6 billion which it says will not hit the poorest in our society.
• Gardaí are investigating the circumstances surrounding a ‘Tiger kidnapping’ which took place in north Dublin last night in which two people were held after a gang broke into their home.
• No sooner had the iPhone 4S been launched by Apple yesterday then rival Samsung was in the courts seeking an injunction against its sale in France and Italy. The two tech giants have been at loggerheads for some time now.
• Speaking of iPhones. If you’ve ever played Angry Birds, you’ll know just how addictive it is but have you ever tried it in real-life? These two goalkeepers for a North Carolina university team did and here’s what happened:

• Staff at the Shebeen Chic restaurant in Dublin are holding a sit in at the Georges Street eatery in Dublin in protest at a planned eviction due to be carried out next Monday. Here’s why.
• Planning permission has been approved for the Metro North rail project which will run from Dublin City Centre to Swords and Dublin Airport in the north of the county.
• There’s been an increase in the number of cases of throat cancer caused by the HPV infection which can be transmitted during oral sex, according to a new study by researchers in the US.
• Greek people have been on the streets of Athens and other cities protesting against the austerity measures imposed by the government. Here’s what happened.
• Six people have been arrested in connection with a plot to kill the Afghan president Hamid Karzai. One of those arrested was a bodyguard of the president, according to Afghan officials.
• Have you seen Bono, Colin Farrell and George Clooney say the f-word in a new ad? Well we’ve got it here for you.
• Finally, we’ve all heard of the Nobel prize, but what about the Ig Nobel prize? Here’s the winners of that competition, including a prime minister and a tank…

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More