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LAST UPDATE | 18 Jan 2024
GOOD MORNING.
Here is all the news you need to know to start your day on this very cold Sunday morning.
1. In our lead story, Diarmuid Pepper reports that Northern Ireland could be brought to a standstill today due to a major public sector strike.
Unions in the North have been involved in long-running pay disputes, in some cases lasting for several years.
Workers are demanding that pay awards made to counterparts elsewhere in the UK are introduced in Northern Ireland.
2. American forces targeted 14 missiles that were ready to launch in Yemen, the US military has said, after Washington re-designated the Iran-backed Huthi rebels as a “terrorist” entity for their attacks on merchant vessels.
The Huthis – who have already faced multiple rounds of air strikes in response to their targeting of international shipping – struck a US-owned bulk cargo carrier in the wake of the designation announcement, and vowed to continue attacks they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
3. The government is considering purchasing a disused venue in Roscrea so locals can establish a “community-owned hotel”, after protesters there said that losing their only open hotel was a factor in their opposition to asylum seekers moving into the area.
Some at the protest, which saw scuffles break out on the day that women and children seeking asylum were entering Racket Hall hotel, told The Journal that Roscrea depended on the hotel for local functions, events, and to attract tourists.
If the Government plans to establish a community-owned hotel in the area go ahead, it could see the start of a new model of venue ownership that could help regenerate rural Irish towns and villages.
Eimer McAuley looks at whether the community-owned hotel could actually work.
4. More than 16,000 lone parents are to benefit from what government are calling “landmark reforms” to the state’s child maintenance system.
The reforms will mean a single parent will no longer be required to go to court to seek child maintenance and the payments will be excluded from the social welfare means test.
5. Met Éireann has warned that it will be another chilly day, with ice, frost and snow slow to fade.
A dry and sunny day is forecast for much of the country, but scattered showers of rain, sleet and snow in the northwest will spread across Ulster and north Connacht through the afternoon and evening.
Temperatures will reach highs of just 1 to 5 degrees in a light northwest breeze.
6. Pakistan has said it had carried out strikes against militant targets in Iran, after Tehran launched attacks on Pakistani territory earlier this week.
Iranian state media reported three women and four children were killed in explosions in the country’s southeast.
7. Ireland defender Andrew Omobamidele marked his long-awaited Nottingham Forest debut with an early goal as the Premier League side beat Blackpool 3-2 after extra time to avoid an FA Cup shock.
8. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has successfully won the backing of the House of Commons for his bill that seeks to deport migrants from the United Kingdom to Rwanda.
The vote, which passed on its third attempt this evening, had 320 votes in favour and 276 against.
More than 60 rebellious Conservative Party members had previously voted against the bill – protesting that the bill was too weak and floating the idea to ignore European emergency injunctions.
9. The Taoiseach is taking part in a panel discussion on the ‘hard power of artificial intelligence’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today.
Leo Varadkar arrived in Davos yesterday and his visit will extend to tomorrow. He has said that he will take advantage of the nexus of business and global leaders attending the event to promote Ireland’s economic interests, and also to engage on the need for a ceasefire in war torn Gaza.
The Davos conference has already featured some controversy. Yesterday Argentina’s new libertarian President Javier Milei slammed socialism as a “threat” to the West in a fiery speech to political and business elites.
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Pretty young plants there. I doubt there is a single bud on any of them. Is it still a drug bust if theres no drugs?
I believe from the moment seeds of the cannabis genus are germinated, you could be looking at a maximum of 14 years in prison.
If were going to have this absurd drug war can we not at least be SMART with it? Use these micky mouse busts as an excuse to get certain s-bags off the street for good? Why not have life in prison for possession with intent to supply and use easy slam dunks like this as a way to get rid of gangland criminals and stick them in solitary until they expire?
Thats what annoys me about this, even despite all this effort to seize a drug that does very little harm and can’t kill anyone, what will happen? A judge will slap them on the wrist, half or most of sentence which will be less than 5 years will be suspended, they’ll get out, go back on the merry go round with the same gang of thugs doing the same things, until another petty bust, another suspended sentence…and around and around we go….nobody seems to be zooming out here and looking at any kind of strategic big picture with this stuff.
Yawn who cares. Is the approach of the Gardai: Let’s seize the harmless cannabis plant while never seizing any heroin, cocaine etc. it certainly seems that way. Absolutely mind boggling how tax payers money continues to be wasted on seizing cannabis. It’s embarrassing at this stage.
Anyone commenting negatively on the drug seizures want to comment on the seizure of the firearm? Amazing how often these “innocent” cannabis growers/dealers have firearms too.
Drug dealers have firearms, and get into wars with each other BECAUSE of drug criminalization. If there was some legalized model it would be pharma executives in 6 figure suits all sitting around the same table instead of shooting each other. The knacks who used to run the drugs would loose 80% of their income and be forced to eek out a living with swag and burglaries and carjackings, the violence would do down substantially, overdoses would drop, accidental deaths would drop and rehabilitation would be far easier.
Paul , there are tons of illegally held shotguns about the country.Licensing was changed a few years back where the cost IIRC rose from about €6 to €80 approx for the privilege of having a shotgun to control vermin on your own land.You’d be amazed at how many guns there are , sitting unlicensed because owners won’t fork out the increased fee for something they only use once or twice per year.
So yeah maybe it was illegal but don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that it was used for nefarious reasons .
Very true , some of the commenters on here can’t see further than their noses and heartily graze on the shyte fed to them by controlled media .Pointless even trying to reason with them.
Lazy people will always try and profit from the stupidity of others.
Motivated and entrepreneurial more like, Tap.
Voice of experience there Tap?
“Lazy people will always try and profit from the stupidity of others.”
Absolutely Pat, they’re called politicians!
Another day another seizure …
Yet more Garda manpower wasted
Makes for a nice headline. But a handful of of infant plants and a weapon used for hunting hardly represents a major drug bust, or the disruption of an organised criminal enterprise.
have your say