LAST UPDATE | 10 Nov 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

1. Taoiseach

The government has agreed that the date for the changeover to elect a new Taoiseach will take place on Saturday 17 December. 

Micheál Martin was due to remain as Taoiseach until 15 December, after which Tánaiste Leo Varadkar would take over. 

However, it is understood that the changeover date was delayed due to a clash with a European Council Summit in Brussels, which Martin was due to attend.

2. Abuse investigation

Gardai said yesterday that they have received a number of allegations of abuse relating to the Spiritans. 

It follows on from an RTÉ Documentary on One programme which broadcast allegations of abuse relating to the religious order. 

Gardaí told The Journal that its Sexual Crime Management Unit at the Garda National Protective Services Bureau receives referrals on an ongoing basis from Religious Orders throughout the country via Designated Liaison Persons.

 3. Garry Roberts

The guitarist for the Boomtown Rats, Garry Roberts, has died aged 72.

The Irish rock group announced the news in a statement which described Roberts as “the guy who summed up the sense of who The Rats are”.

Roberts was a founding member of the band, which formed in Dublin in 1975 fronted by lead singer Bob Geldof.

4. Dublin Bus

An investigation has been launched after a video captured the moment a Dublin Bus mounted a pavement and drove down a busy stretch of road.

The incident was captured on camera by a commuter on Tuesday morning. It occurred between the Rathfarnham and Terenure areas of Dublin 6. 

The video shows the bus travelling on the path to avoid traffic congestion. It travels in close proximity to the entrance to several houses on the street. 

 5. Kherson

Kyiv has reacted sceptically to Russia announcing its retreat from the southern city, urging continued resistance until Ukraine liberates all of its occupied cities.

Moscow’s decision to withdraw troops from the regional capital it had seized earlier in the war came as the United States estimated more than 100,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine.

Kyiv’s forces have likely suffered similar casualties, according to top US General Mark Milley, who shared the most precise figures released to date by Washington.

6. Met Éireann

A status yellow wind warning is currently in place for counties Donegal, Galway, and Mayo.

The alert is in place from now until 8pm tonight.

Met Éireann warns that strong to gale force, south to southwest winds with gusts of to 110km/h are expected.

7. Summit

Rishi Sunak is to become the first UK prime minister to attend a British-Irish Council meeting in 15 years.

Gordon Brown was the last prime minister to attend in 2007.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will meet with Sunak at the British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool today. 

8. Protocol

Irish MEPs have said that the UK Government’s attitude on the Northern Ireland Protocol has shifted in recent weeks, with more positive sounds now coming from Westminster.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels this afternoon, Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly said that at a meeting between MEPs and UK MPs earlier this week, the Northern Ireland Protocol was the main topic of discussion.

Kelly said that the new British Government appeared willing to resolve the ongoing stalemate around the Protocol.

9. Ballyfermot

A woman who was arrested in connection with the stabbing of a man in Dublin has been released without charge.

Gardaí and emergency services found the man with an apparent stab wound in a flat in Claddagh Court in Dublin shortly after 2:30am on Tuesday. 

The injured man, aged in his 30s, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later.