EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #GARDA DEATH: The State funeral of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe will take place in Louth today with Taoiseach Enda Kenny and President Michael D Higgins among the thousands expected to attend. Last night the Irish League of Credit Unions offered a reward of €50,000 for information about the detective’s killing last Friday.
2. #LONGFORD: The Health and Safety Authority is investigating two deaths outside a DIY store on the Athlone Road in Longford yesterday afternoon. A man in his 40s died after the collapse of a wall at the Connacht Gold DIY and Garden Centre yesterday with another dying in hospital a short time later with four others injured in the incident.
3. #HEALTH INSURANCE: The largest health insurer in the country will announce price increase of on average 6 per cent, the Irish Times reports today. VHI, which insures 1.2 million people, will announce what will be their fifth price increase in the last two years but it will be lower than what they had originally intended after pressure from Health Minister James Reilly, Martin Wall writes.
4. #ECONOMY: Cutting public sector pay by €1 billion – as the government intends to do over the next three years – will result in a reduction in Ireland’s economic output by as much as 0.5 per cent, the ESRI has suggested according the Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin. The Minister said that the reduction is necessary in order to address Ireland’s large fiscal deficit.
5. #MALI: French troops are reported to be at the gates of the last major city in northern Mali which is controlled by Islamist militants, Kidal. French-led forces have been making steady progress in the north of the country since their intervention earlier this month with Gao and the historic desert city of Timbuktu having already been taken.
6. #HOT WHISKEY: The United Left Alliance TD Clare Daly has said that she is surprised that the gardaí released information to some of the media about her arrest for suspected drink-driving on Monday night. The Dublin North deputy said that she drank a hot whiskey for a cold before she was stopped by gardaí in Kilmainham, south Dublin and breathalysed before later having to provide a blood sample.
7. #IMMIGRATION: President Barack Obama has outlined his proposals for wide-ranging immigration reform in the United States which could lead to a path of legalisation for 11 million immigrants including around 50,000 undocumented Irish in the States. Obama’s proposal differs from that of bipartisan group of US senators in that it calls for a much quicker process that is not as strictly contingent on strengthening the borders.
8. #HORSE MEAT: Beef burgers that were taken off the shelves in supermarkets after the horse meat scandal could be sold to producers of pet food, the ABP Food Group has suggested according to the Irish Times. The Larry Goodman-owned firm is now considering the measure instead of destroying the 10 million burgers, some of which may contain as much as 29 per cent horse DNA.
9. #BLACKBERRY: In what is widely being seen as a last roll of the dice by troubled the Blackberry maker RIM will launch its new software today with a range of new phones also being unveiled. Blackberry 10 has created plenty of buzz, according to Reuters, with browser speed and an intuitive touchscreen keyboard said to be among its best features.
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