LAST UPDATE | 25 Mar

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.

Temple Street

1. In our main story this morning, News Correspondent Órla Ryan reports that parents and a consultant at Temple Street hospital have raised concerns about the impact of long waiting lists on children who need life-changing surgery.

The hospital has been embroiled in controversy since it emerged that one child died and others suffered serious post-surgery complications following spinal surgery there.

The consultant surgeon involved, Connor Green, has been on voluntary leave for almost a year and he has not been replaced, which has made waiting lists even worse.

Gaza aid

2. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees have said that Israel had definitively barred it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest.

UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma told AFP the decision had been relayed in a meeting with Israeli military officials yesterday. It followed two denials in writing for convoy deliveries to the north last week.

UNRWA has not been able to deliver food to the north since 29 January, Touma said.

New Fine Gael leader

3. New Fine Gael leader Simon Harris is expected to meet outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today. 

Harris was announced as the new leader of Fine Gael yesterday, paving his way to become Taoiseach next month.

He also plans to meet with the two other coalition leaders Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan later this week. 

Armagh crash

4. Tributes have been paid after five people died in two collisions in Northern Ireland over the weekend.

Four people died in Co Armagh after the grey Volkswagen Golf they were travelling in crashed on the Ballynahonemore Road at around 2.10am yesterday. 

Separately, a man aged in his 40s died following a road traffic collision on the Forkhill Road, Newry, Co Down, on Saturday.

General election

5. Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has said he intends this government to go the full-term.

The soon-to-be Taoiseach said there doesn’t need to be a “mystique” around when the next general election will be called, telling reporters in Athlone today that he plans for it to go all the way out to March next year.

Harris said he wants this government to “get back to work, to deliver for people” and for the programme for government to be implemented.

Simon Coveney 

6. Former Tánaiste and deputy leader of Fine Gael Simon Coveney has said that he will be running in the next general election.

Speculation has been rife about what form a Cabinet reshuffle will take once Harris becomes Taoiseach when the Dáil returns.

It is understood Harris will ask ministers if they plan to seek re-election, and if they do not, could be moved out of their ministerial positions.

Garda suspension system

7. The group representing garda middle management will call for a major overhaul of the garda discipline system at its annual delegate conference.  

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) will begin its three day meeting in Westport, Co Mayo today. 

The Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee will attend the conference. 

Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan

8. A former parliamentary assistant to MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan will be sentenced later today in relation to a message he posted from the politician’s social media account.

The post centered on former Green Party election candidate Saoirse McHugh.

On 28 September, 2020 at 2.50am, a post sent from Flanagan’s account on X, formerly Twitter, read: “Sapirse [sic] mchugh photo skinny dipping.”

Flanagan said at the time that his account was hacked via a third-party app that allowed an individual to send a message from his profile by using an old password.

Moscow attack

9. Four men accused of involvement in a massacre at a Moscow concert hall that killed 137 people have been remanded in custody.

All four suspects have been charged with terrorism, according to Moscow’s Basmanny district court, and face life imprisonment.

At least 137 people, including three children, were killed on Friday evening when gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk then set fire to the building.