LAST UPDATE | 14 Mar
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. In our main story reports, Rónán Duffy reports that voters in the upcoming European elections are evenly split on the relevance of immigration to the forthcoming vote, but a third say they will vote for an “anti-immigration” candidate.
Asked about the influence of immigration ahead of June’s European elections, The Journal/Ireland Thinks poll found a virtual dead-heat across the three options presented.
2. The European Commission and other leaders have called on Israel to open additional crossings to enable more aid to reach Gaza, where famine concerns are growing.
It comes as the first boat loaded with 200 tonnes of food aid makes slow progress towards the Gaza Strip, amid efforts to bring more humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory besieged by Israel.
3. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that US President Joe Biden’s heart is “in the right place” in relation to the conflict in Gaza.
The Taoiseach is in the US this week for St Patrick’s Day and will participate in a number of engagements, including meetings with Biden.
4. A State inquiry examining how State agencies handled child abuse complaints about Bill Kenneally has seen its chairman criticise the convicted sex offender for “attempting to minimise” what he did to his victims.
The comments arose after Kenneally had refused to accept he had enacted a “campaign of abuse” on victims, saying that claims of grooming were “exaggerated” and questioning “why it took 30 years” for victims to come forward about the abuse.
5. A man has died following a two-vehicle collision in Co Kildare last night.
The incident happened on the M4 westbound at Junction 8, Kilcock shortly after 11pm.
6. Media Minister Catherine Martin took part in a panel discussion at the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Texas, after all 10 Irish acts set to appear at the event pulled out over its US army sponsorship.
In total, more than 80 artists and multiple panellists have cancelled their involvement in the festival, according to the Texas Tribune.
7. Three people have been charged with federal firearm offences in the United States after a shooting at last month’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade.
One person was killed and roughly two dozen bystanders were injured during the incident which police in Kansas in the United States believe started as a result of a dispute between two groups.
8. A young man has died in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Gardaí and emergency services were alerted to a crash involving a motorcycle at Cloonkeen near Castlebar on the R309 shortly before 5pm yesterday.
9. Ireland is facing legal action after the European Commission referred the State to the EU’s Court of Justice over a failure to protect peat bogs from turf cutting.
It called on Ireland to “redouble efforts” to move turf cutting machines away from peat bogs “before the damage done makes restoration impossible”.
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