LAST UPDATE | 3 Sep 2021
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. The government’s Housing for All plan aims to create 300,000 new homes by the end of the decade, with more than half to come from the private sector.
The plan, which was launched yesterday, allocates €4 billion annual investment in housing, Cónal Thomas writes in today’s lead story.
The government is aiming to create 300,000 homes by the end of 2030, with more than half – 156,000 – coming from the private sector. The remainder is set to be made up of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable homes, and 18,000 cost-rental homes.
2. Opposition parties have branded the Housing For All strategy as “unambitious” and accused it of relying on investors.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the government has “failed to grasp the depth” of the housing crisis or scale the ambition that will be required to tackle it.
Labour’s Housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan said the plan “was heavy on aspiration but lacks ambition on State delivery”.
3. Over 61,000 students are set to receive Leaving Cert results this morning. Results will be available to students at 10am on the candidate portal, schools will also be posted a report of the results.
In order to calculate Leaving Cert grades this year, students were given the option of sitting the exams or receiving accredited grades. Over 90% of students chose to do both and they will receive the better of the two results.
4. The US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan has put an end to President Joe Biden’s hopes of running for re-election in 2024, a former White House chief of staff for Donald Trump has said.
Republican Mick Mulvaney, who held the important Chief of Staff role (albeit in an ‘acting’ capacity) for more than a year in the tumultuous Trump White House, says the “travesty” in Afghanistan has ensured that Biden will not be the Democrat candidate when the US presidential election rolls around in 2024.
The politician from South Carolina, who has family roots in Co Mayo, told The Journal that the decision to leave Afghanistan has overwhelming support in the United States.
5. Tributes have been paid following the death of Pat Hume, the widow of former SDLP leader John Hume.
Her death comes just over a year after that of her Nobel Peace Prize-winning husband John. Pat worked alongside her husband from the beginning of the civil rights movement in Derry in the 1960s.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: “I want to recognise the tremendous contribution Pat made in their life’s work for peace and stability on this island and her resilience and courage on the path to peaceful change.”
6. Going abroad now, remnants of Hurricane Ida have killed at least 44 people in the US.
The deceased included several people who died in basements during the “historic” weather event that officials, including President Joe Biden, have blamed on climate change.
Record rainfall, which prompted an unprecedented flash flood emergency warning for New York City, turned streets into rivers and shut down subway services as water cascaded down platforms onto tracks.
7. Back in Ireland, the reaction to the government’s new housing strategy has been predictable — the opposition hates it, business groups love it and housing agencies are hopeful about its targets.
But it’s going to be a long time before we can assess its economic impact and its ability to deliver on some of its more audacious claims, Ian Curran writes in today’s Morning Memo.
Sign up to receive our daily business and economics newsletter here.
8. Ireland has played a real part in the advancement of space science and technology in Europe and there are plenty more opportunities out there.
So, how long before we have an Irish astronaut? Does Ireland really have a place in space? And what role do space technologies play in tackling the climate crisis?
The Good Information Project has been looking at Ireland and the EU’s role in space exploration, and during today’s Open Newsroom we’ll explore some of our recent research and answer your questions with the help of our special guest, space commentator, Leo Enright.
Join our discussion this lunchtime at 1pm over on Facebook.
9. And finally, the weather: Today will start off cloudy with mist and fog clearing. Met Éireann says occasional sunny spells will develop through the day, the best of which will be in the northeast.
It will be mainly dry with the chance of a few light passing showers. Highest temperatures of 16 to 19 degrees Celsius during the day, dropping to nine to 12 degrees tonight.
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