LAST UPDATE | 18 May 2021
GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. The private personal information belonging to potentially tens of thousands of Irish people could be packaged up and sold off on the darkweb to the highest bidder unless some form of deal is brokered with the hackers, senior sources have warned as the massive HSE cyberattack enters its fifth day.
In our lead story today, Garreth MacNamee and Niall O’Connor write that the HSE has been left reeling by what has been described as the “biggest ever cyber attack in State history”.
Gardaí and members of the Defence Forces are working around the clock to pinpoint exactly who is behind the attack.
2. As the fallout from the cyber attack continues, officials from the Department of Communications and the National Cyber Security Centre will appear before TDs and senators today to field questions. The Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communication Networks will meet in private at 9.30am to receive the latest update.
The government has ruled out paying a ransom to the hackers who carried out the cyber attack. In a statement issued last night, the government said it is taking a “determined and methodical approach to resolving the impact of the attack”, with the NCSC leading the efforts.
3. A petition signed by more than 25,000 people calling for the government to scrap tax breaks for cuckoo funds, build public homes, strengthening tenant rights, and put the right to a home in the constitution has been delivered to Cabinet.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe are due to bring proposals to Cabinet this morning to prevent the bulk purchase of housing estates by investment funds.
4. The UN Security Council is due to hold an emergency meeting today amid a flurry of urgent diplomacy aimed at stemming hostilities between Israel and armed Palestinian groups that have left over 200 people dead.
Amid calls for an end to the fighting, Israeli Prime Minister said late last night that Israel would “continue striking at the terrorist targets”. US President Joe Biden told Netanyahu yesterday that he backs a ceasefire, but stopped short of demanding a truce.
5. Staying with the conflict in Gaza, two activists – one Israeli and one Palestinian – share their perspectives with The Journal today.
Anna Garbar and Rawan Odeh are the co-directors of New Story Leadership, a charity based in Washington DC that develops young Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ensures that their perspectives are heard by policymakers in the United States.
In this interview, they talk about the recent violence in East Jerusalem and Gaza, as well as the many misconceptions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
6. The European Medicines Agency has approved the storage of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in fridges for up to a month, in a move that should boost its rollout across the bloc, including in Ireland.
The storage period in fridges of unopened vials of the vaccine, which initially had to be stored in supercooled freezers, had been lengthened from five days, the EMA has said.
7. A teacher’s union is set to tell TDs today that staff in schools are often subjected to “inappropriate behaviour” by parents who comment about them on social media.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation will also say that it is concerned that school staff who identify as LGBT+ do not always feel accepted in their workplace. The union call for more training and support in LGBT+ inclusion and visibility in schools when it appears before the Oireachtas Education Committee later today.
Morning Memo
8. Semiconductors, building materials and now chocolate flakes, if it seems like the world is starting to run low on everything, that’s because it kind of is, Ian Curran writes in today’s Morning Memo.
Having held up relatively well in the face of the pandemic, so much was made of the resilience of international supply chains last year. But an uptick in global demand, transport disruptions and labour shortages are all conspiring to put significant pressure on the ability of pressure on the global economy. Sign up to receive the newsletter to your inbox here.
9. And finally – while we hate to be the bearer of bad news – more rain is on the way.
Scattered showers will continue to affect the south and west this morning, but it will be drier elsewhere. Further scattered showers will develop through the middle of the day, heaviest in Leinster and east Munster through the afternoon with the risk of hail and isolated thunderstorms. Highest temperatures will range from 12 to 15 degrees.
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