GOOD MORNING.

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

Fossil fuels

1. An unpublished Government report, obtained for the first time by Noteworthy, shows that ambition for tighter scrutiny regarding the investment of pension funds in fossil fuels was rolled back only months after the target was set.

One goal in the 2019 Climate Action Plan was to consider how a new requirement could be placed on pension providers to give savers more information on whether their money was invested in fossil fuels and options for alternatives.

Months later, a cross-department working group tasked with examining the action concluded it should be considered in “broader terms” than a “strict requirement” on pension providers, Lauren Boland writes in today’s lead story.

Stabbing in Killarney

2. Two men have been arrested following a stabbing incident at Hotel Killarney in Co Kerry.

Gardaí and emergency services were alerted following reports of a public order incident involving a group of males at the hotel at around 8.30pm yesterday.

Four men were injured in the incident and were removed from the hotel, which is currently being used as a Direct Provision centre, to hospital for treatment. Their injuries are described as non-life-threatening.

Tributes

3. A woman whose body was discovered at a flat in Cork city yesterday has been named by gardaí as Bruna Fonseca.

The 28-year-old was found unresponsive in an apartment and pronounced dead a short time later. A man has been arrested following the discovery. He remains in custody.

Fonseca, who was from Brazil, was working as a contract cleaner at Mercy University Hospital in Cork city. A spokesperson for the hospital described Fonseca as a hard worker and expressed condolences to her family and friends.

Covid-19 inquiry

4. An inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic should not be about “pointing fingers” or “ascribing blame”, the Taoiseach has said.

Leo Varadkar also said he wants an inquiry into the response to the virus “up and running” this year.

The Fine Gael leader added that he is conscious that the pandemic is not over and that many of the people who are battling the virus would be the people being asked to give evidence.

Short-term lets

5. Only 50 short-term let planning permissions have been granted by local authorities since new rules were introduced three years ago, despite over 16,000 properties listed on Airbnb.

According to new figures, while there have been over 142 planning applications submitted to local authorities for a ‘change of use’ to allow for short-term letting, only 50 of these have been granted.

The figures, revealed in a Parliamentary Question from Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan, show that there has been next to no engagement with short-term letting rules introduced by the Government in 2019.

Ukraine

6. Russia has deployed multiple drones overnight to attack parts of Ukraine and dozens were shot down, Ukrainian officials have said, after a series of attacks through the weekend that killed three civilians on New Year’s Eve.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said 40 exploding drones “headed for Kyiv” overnight, according to air defence forces, and all of them were destroyed.

He said 22 were destroyed over the capital, three in the outlying region and 15 over neighbouring provinces.

Schools

7. Almost 14,000 Ukrainian children and teenagers have enrolled in Irish schools since the start of Russian invasion of their homeland.

New figures from the Department of Education show that 13,753 Ukrainian pupils have joined schools here in recent months – 8,823 in primary education and 4,930 in secondary schools.

It is almost double what the numbers stood at last May, when 6,797 Ukrainian pupils had joined Irish schools in the early weeks of the war. It represents an increase of 6,956 in the past seven months.

Analysis 

8. How is Ireland doing after 50 years in the EU? Emma DeSouza recently visited Strasbourg and looked at how Ireland has been doing as a member state.

She writes: “It is a historic milestone; Ireland’s entry into the EU has undoubtedly been good for the country.

“Since our entry, Ireland has thrived both economically and diplomatically as a fully-fledged member state, but the country is a long way off from being a European leader. In areas such as climate, women’s inclusion in politics, and voting rights, Ireland trails at the bottom of the league table.”

Weather forecast 

9. And finally, the weather.

Met Éireann says it will be cold and frosty in many areas this morning with icy stretches and some freezing fog in places.

It’s expected to remain cold in most areas throughout the day with highest temperatures of one to six degrees generally. 

A national Status Yellow Fog/Ice Warning will remain in place until 11am today.