LAST UPDATE | 8 Aug
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.
1. In our main story this morning, Eoghan Dalton reports that one-in-five private tenancies in Dublin are owned by large landlords who can count more than 100 properties in their portfolio, according to a new analysis of Ireland’s rental market.
While the biggest landlords, often largescale property companies, have a sizable presence in the capital’s rental market, it’s a different story for the rest of the country: just 2.5% of tenancies outside Dublin are owned by large landlords.
2. Stormont MLAs are set to return from summer recess for an Assembly sitting to discuss recent scenes of violent disorder on the streets of Belfast.
It comes as the PSNI has said it will be significantly scaling-up the number of officers on the ground and has requested that additional officers be sent from Britain to help deal with the disorder.
3. A councillor has launched a strong objection to plans for an “amusement centre” with controversial slot machines in Dublin’s Dolphin’s Barn, saying these types of venues “don’t add anything to the area”.
Green Party Councillor Michael Pidgeon told The Journal that he has objected to the proposal on moral grounds, claiming that he has seen how “grim and grubby this sector can be”.
4. Mary Robinson has said people need to “learn the lessons” of Irish history, including the Famine and mass emigration, as part of our response to immigration into the country.
In an interview with The Journal, Robinson, former Irish president and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said people should respond to migration in a thoughtful manner.
5. Organisers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Austria later this week have called them off after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts.
Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
6. Reporting from Paris, Sinead O’Carroll speaks to Irish taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley, whose medal hopes were dashed yesterday following his bout with Spain’s Adrian Vicente.
“I loved every second of that,” he said afterwards. “I just really buzzed off that much better than any performance that the Irish public have seen. Unfortunately, our sport isn’t televised all year round and everything, and you only get to see like the Olympics. Hopefully that can change in the future, and you just get to see what Jack Woolley is really made of.
7. Israel has vowed to eliminate the new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the 7 October attack, as regional hostilities threatening to boil over as the Gaza war enters its 11th month.
The naming of Sinwar to lead the Palestinian militant group came as Israel steeled itself for potential Iranian retaliation over the killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.
8. The head of the Metropolitan Police has said that fears of further far-right rioting in UK cities last night were abated thanks to a “show of unity from communities”.
Thousands of peaceful anti-racism demonstrators gathered in areas including Walthamstow, east London, Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool and Sheffield, with further far-right violence failing to materialise.
9. The EU’s climate monitor has said that 2024 is “increasingly likely” to be the warmest year on record after analysis of last month’s temperatures spiked concerns that no progress was made.
July was the second-warmest month on record, only behind July 2023, according to the most recent report by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, with an average global temperature of 16.91 degrees Celsius.
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