EVERY MORNING TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. ABORTION: Twenty-one years after the X Case, the Dáil has voted to pass the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 by a margin of 127 votes to 31. The landmark bill, which clarifies that abortion is allowed in Ireland in limited circumstances, received both cross-party support and cross-party opposition. Here’s a quick catch-up on everything you should know about the Dáil vote.
2. #ALL CHANGE: Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe has been appointed Minister of State for European Affairs, replacing Lucinda Creighton who resigned from her post after voting against the Government in the abortion bill overnight.
3. #UNEXPECTED: Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has upgraded Ireland’s economic outlook from stable to positive and said that the economy is showing clear signs of recovery. S&P said there is a one-in-three chance that Ireland will reduce its government debt faster than expected.
4. #CASTLEBAR: A 26-year-old man will appear in court this morning charged in connection with the murder of two brothers in Castlebar earlier this week. The bodies of Jack Blaine (70) and his brother Tom (68) were discovered at their house on Wednesday morning in what has been described as a “brutal and savage” killing.
5. #DROWNING: A 19-year-old man drowned in a lake near Strokestown in Roscommon last night. It brings to four the number of people who have drowned in Irish waters in the past two days.
6. #NORTHERN IRELAND: Tensions are high in Northern Ireland today ahead of the annual 12 July parades by the Orange Order. A total of 550 parades are expected to take place and the PSNI has drafted in more than 600 extra police officers from across Britain to help.
7. #MALALA: Pakistani shchoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by Taliban militants last year, will today mark her 16th birthday by addressing the United Nations on the importance of education as a universal right.
8. #RAPE: Forty girls under the age of 18 became pregnant after being raped in 2011, according to new figures from the Rape Crisis Network Ireland. The group also found that 105 children attended the centres in one year.
9. #BURN: Former taoiseach Charles Haughey made disparaging remarks about Bertie Ahern’s intelligence after he used the word ‘kebabs’ instead of ‘cabals’ at a Fianna Fáil meeting, one Fianna Fáil senator has said. The Examiner reports that Senator Terry Leyden took notes after a meeting with Haughey in 2003, three years before his death, during which Haughey criticised Ahern and said he was only “mildly impressed” by President Mary McAleese.
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