GOOD MORNING.

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

Baltimore bridge collapse

1. Authorities in Baltimore have suspended their search for six people missing after a packed cargo ship slammed into a Baltimore bridge on Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse and blocking one of the busiest US commercial harbors.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said earlier that quick thinking by authorities once the ship issued a mayday call allowed them to stop vehicles from driving onto the bridge.

Major pension reform

2. The Auto-Enrollment pension scheme is set to be approved by Cabinet later today and will late apply to almost 800,000 workers, in one of the largest reforms to the country’s pension schemes.

The scheme will see employees, between 23 and 60 years old, contribute into the pension pot, with their contributions matched by their employer as well as a further top-up from the State.

Ireland to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

3. Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and his department officials are to prepare a declaration of intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The Tánaiste is to update the Cabinet about this today. If approved, the Irish Government will officially intervene in the case against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention at the court in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Bombs continue to drop in Gaza

4. Israel continued its bombardment of the southern Gaza Strip overnight, despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory where famine is looming.

Besieged Gaza is in desperate need of aid and the United States said it would continue airdrops, despite pleas from Hamas to stop the practice after the Islamist group said 18 people had died trying to reach food packages.

Cabinet to decide on EU Migration pact

5. Justice Minister Helen McEntee is today to seek approval from cabinet for Ireland to join the European Union’s migration pact, giving the State the choice to provide a monetary contribution to the bloc rather than accepting migrants.

By opting in, McEntee would be committing Ireland to introducing a programme of legislation which will replace the International Protection Act of 2015 within the next two years.

More asylum law reforms before the Cabinet

6. Elsewhere, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman will bring a long-awaited plan before Cabinet later today which will see empty office buildings converted to address the crisis in accommodation for international protection applicants.

It’s understood it will aim to move away from the current reliance for accommodation on private providers towards State owned accommodation, while also seeking to ensure higher standards among commercial providers.

Victims of devastating Mayo house fire named locally

7. A couple who died following a fatal house fire in the Swinford area of Co Mayo have been named locally as Tom and Eileen Mahon, as the local community remain shocked by the news.

It’s understood the two couple were aged in their 60s and were well known in the local community, having operated a furniture and flooring business in the area. 

Newly-elected leader of Fine Gael and higher education minister Simon Harris said in a post on social media last night that he was thinking of the Mahon’s family and friends.

Cyberbullying report

8. A report has found nearly one in six young people were cyberbullied in 2022, a 13% increase from four years ago.

15% of boys and 16% of girls between the ages of 11 and 15 reported being cyberbullied at least once in recent months. One in eight admitted to cyberbullying others, an increase of 3% since 2018. 

In most places, cyberbullying peaked when children were 11 years old for boys and 13 for girls. 

Good news for the economy

9. The Irish economy is set to grow this year and next with a decline in inflation increases according to the Economic & Social Research Institute’s (ESRI).

The report said today that it anticipates growth across all main economic activity indicators this year and next, with growth in MDD, GDP and a fall in inflation.

The ESRI noted, however, that while the outlook for the Irish economy is positive over the medium-term, “it is clear there are a number of challenges which need to be considered”.