GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. The majority of applications for emergency social welfare payments are taking up to eight weeks to finalise, the Department of Social Protection has confirmed.
In 95% of applications for the additional needs payment – which is used to cover basic necessities such as food, clothing, fuel and utility bills – it is taking between five to eight weeks to fully process the payment.
The figure was revealed in an answer to a parliamentary question, Christina Finn writes in today’s lead story.
2. Yesterday Bord Gáis became the fourth energy supplier to announce a price hike in the last week, joining Electric Ireland, PrePayPower and SSE Airtricity in raising customers’ costs.
Reducing energy consumption can translate to less expensive bills and has wider benefits for sustainability.
A major driver of climate change, which has dangerous consequences for the planet, is the burning of fossil fuels like gas, oil and coal. Cutting down on energy helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as saving money at a personal level.
But it can be hard to know exactly how your energy bill comes together and what appliances are using the most power.
The Journal has put together this introductory guide on how to find out how much energy your home or business is using and what tools are available that can show you how that energy use is broken down.
3. Ahead of Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral in Moscow today, Deaglán de Bréadún says that the leader’s popularity on the international stage did not exist to the same extent on his home ground.
He writes: “US Presidents are high on the totem pole and I did get to shake hands with Bill Clinton at a St Patrick’s Day reception in the White House, as well as interview Jimmy Carter later at the Irish state guesthouse in Farmleigh.
“On the other side of the spectrum in global politics, I clasped the hand of Mikhail Gorbachev a few years later.”
4. A protest against emergency housing for Ukrainians in Co Kildare, has been postponed as members of a local campaign group plan to meet integration minister Roderic O’Gorman.
A group of local residents from the Lakeside Park/Highfield/Dara Park area of Newbridge planned to stage the demonstration today to voice their opposition to 30 modular homes being constructed to house people fleeing Russia’s invasion.
The LHD Action Group said it has a range of issues with the planned homes, including a lack of consultation from public bodies, infrastructure and amenity problems and potential home value depreciation.
The group said the protest has been postponed ahead of a meeting with Minister O’Gorman on Tuesday to express their concerns about the plans.
5. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is travelling Stateside this weekend to meet with political and business leaders in California.
During the visit, McDonald will brief Governor Gavin Newsom, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and a number of State and Congressional representatives.
McDonald said she will also be speaking to political leaders about the future of a united Ireland. She said with with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaching, “we are now beginning to write the next chapter in Ireland’s story – the reunification of Ireland”.
6. Former US First Lady Michelle Obama is among those to hail Serena Williams as “the greatest” as the tennis superstar heads into retirement.
Williams, the winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, played what was almost certainly the last match of her 27-year career at the US Open when she slipped to a three-set defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic.
“Congrats on an amazing career, @SerenaWilliams! How lucky were we to be able to watch a young girl from Compton grow up to become one of the greatest athletes of all time,” Obama tweeted.
7. The HSE has issued a warning about high-strength MDMA being sold at Electric Picnic this weekend.
Mybrand purple skulls have been identified as higher strength MDMA at the HSE’s drug-monitoring lab at the music and arts festival in Stradbally in Co Laois.
The tablet’s contents are “approximately two times the average adult dose“, the HSE has warned.
8. US actor and activist Jane Fonda announced on Friday that she has cancer, and has begun chemotherapy in her battle against the disease.
The 84-year-old Oscar winner, a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party, vowed to fight the “very treatable” illness.
“I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she wrote on her verified Instagram account.
9. And finally, the weather.
Met Éireann says today will start off cloudy and wet for much of Ulster and Leinster, with rain slowly clearing northeastwards through the afternoon and evening.
Elsewhere, there will be a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers, potentially turning heavy and thundery.
Temperatures will be cooler than in recent days with highs of 14 to 17 degrees Celsius.
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