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Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland
Taoiseach Enda Kenny sings with members of the Cistercian College orchestra and choir at Government Buildings this afternoon.
# Daily Fix
The Daily Fix: Wednesday
In tonight’s Fix: Which TDs are boycotting the household charge? Who has become the latest victim of the Arab Spring? And a beatboxing vicar sings the nativity…
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.
- If there is to be a referendum on the EU treaty changes agreed by leaders last week then it will effectively be a referendum on whether or not Ireland wants to keep the euro, the Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said today.
- As the legislation which will see a household charge goes through the Oireachtas, at least seven TDs look set to boycott the €100 annual charge when it falls due next year. Earlier, Socialist TD Joe Higgins urged a public boycott.
- An inquiry into the 1975 murder of three members of the Miami Showband has found evidence of collusion by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the deaths.
- One in five Irish adults has never used the internet a new survey has revealed. Meanwhile over half of businesses in Ireland restrict employees’ access to social media in the workplace according to a survey.
- The government does not yet have a new housing minister as the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is yet to recommend one, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil today.
- Samaritans has said it is seeing the intensity of calls to its helpline increase over the past year as people struggle to cope with the effects of the recession.
- The Arab Spring’s latest casualty is not a country’s leader but a travel agent with Thomas Cook announcing it is to close 200 stores after tourism to Tunisia and Egypt dried up in the wake of unrest there earlier this year.
- Meanwhile, Tunisia, whose president Ben Ali was forced to step down at the beginning of the year, has sworn in his replacement. Dr Moncef Marzouki, exiled during the Ali years, will set Tunisia’s foreign policy and be commander-in-chief of the armed forces while in power.
- Want to see a beatboxing vicar rap the nativity story? We thought you would. Check out this video and get the lowdown on Reverend Gavin Tyte here:
(YouTube: TheChristmasChannel)
- The Central Bank has ordered some of the country’s banks to drop certain charges levied on current account holders who exceed their limits. It follows a review of over 300 current account options provided by Irish banks.
- TIME magazine has named its Person of the Year and it is… The Protester which refers, we guess, to everyone from those opposing the government of Egypt to those occupying Wall Street in New York. Runners up included Ai Wei Wei and Kate Middleton.
- Google has unveiled an extraordinary database of images of Japan before March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami and after the catastrophe.
- Could the Seanad be retained but with senators working on a voluntary basis? One Senator thinks so.
- A woman has died after a freak accident in a New York lift. The woman was stepping into the lift when her leg caught and dragged her body into the shaft killing her.
- The young man who became an internet sensation after he was dragged off a train for apparently not having a valid ticket, has claimed today that he did have a ticket after all and he said his turfing off a Scottish rail service was not justified.
- Finally, today we’ve been asking if you TheJournal.ie readers are looking forward to Christmas? So far an overwhelming majority of you are. Season’s Greetings!
