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LAST UPDATE | 31 Mar
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.
1. That’s a loaded question, writes Paul O’Donoghue in this morning’s lead story, which needs some space for discussion.
While the US seeks to rebalance the figurative scales of trade between itself and Ireland, it puts the Irish economy – which has largely been propped up by tax receipts from multinationals – between a rock and a hard place.
You can read the full piece, with better examples and a load of (needed) context, here.
2. From today, car insurers will be required to collect the unique driver numbers of every person included on a policy.
The inclusion of these numbers will give insurers and gardaí the ability to know more about a driver’s history. It will also aim to stamp out uninsured driving.
3. Tánaiste Simon Harris is this morning holding a series of meetings with his European counterparts ahead of US tariffs which are expected to be imposed on the EU this week.
Harris will speak with Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever and the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen on the phone before welcoming Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman to government buildings.
Discussions will largely focus on wargaming the fallout of the expected tariffs, which will put Ireland and its economy in a particularly vulnerable position as the country with the largest trading relationship in the EU.
4. More than 1,700 people have died following an earthquake which hit Myanmar last week.
Relief efforts have been hampered by buckled roads, downed bridges, spotty communications and the challenges of operating in a country engaged in a civil war.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses after emergency services attended the scene of the incident which occurred at about 3.45pm yesterday on the N72, Killarney to Mallow Road.
Both drivers, a woman aged in her 60s and another woman aged in her 40s, were pronounced dead at the scene. It is understood that the vehicles were involved in a head-on collision.
6. A mother and son face losing their home after a surprise change to a government housing scheme aimed at preventing tenants from being forced into homelessness.
The Tenant-in-Situ scheme allows councils to step in and purchase a privately rented home where a landlord is looking to sell the property. But changes to funding for refurbishments to homes to be carried out before the sale will no longer be granted.
For Rachel Derwin, a student nurse in the final year of her internship at St James Hospital, it would mean she and her six-year-old son Albie will lose out on the Swords home they’ve made their own over the past five years.
7. US President Donald Trump has said he is “not joking” about trying to serve a third term in the White House, claiming there are methods to carry it out in a news interview.
The 22nd Amendment, which was added to the constitution in 1951 after Franklin D Roosevelt was elected as president four times in a row, says: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”
NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Trump if one potential route to a third term was having vice president JD Vance run for the top job and “then pass the baton to you”. Trump agreed, but said he would not name another.
8. Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan is attending a summit in London today where European and international ministers will discuss where efforts to tackle people smuggling.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to tell the Organised Immigration Crime Summit to work together to stop people-smuggling gangs in the same way they would terrorists.
9. The boss of Primark has resigned after an allegation over his behaviour towards a woman.
Primark’s parent firm, Associated British Foods (ABF), said Paul Marchant has stepped down as chief executive of the fashion brand with immediate effect following an investigation.
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