LAST UPDATE | 27 Dec 2019

EVERY MORNING TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #CRASH: Eight people have been hospitalised following a two-car collision in Co Galway. 

2. #PASSPORTS: Over 900,000 Irish passports were issued in 2019, which represents a new record and a 7% increase on 2018.

3. #TYPHOON: The death toll from Typhoon Phanfone’s battering of the Philippines on Christmas Day has risen to 28.

4. #PSNI: PSNI chief Simon Byrne has defended the use of machine-gun-armed officers in a photo he used to send a Christmas Day message.

5. #GIFTS: Irish flags, vodka and a Che Guevara stamp were among the gifts given and received by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney this year.

6. #BORDER POLL: Having a border poll on a United Ireland now isn’t a good idea because it “would be defeated” and that would be “decisive”, according to Varadkar.

7. #LIFE EXPECTANCY: Irish people are living longer and are healthier than they were at the end of the Celtic Tiger.

8. #CYBER ATTACK: A new plan to crackdown on cyber-crime, hacking and cyber-espionage has been published in a bid to protect the State.

9. #DRINKAWARE: Health Minister Simon Harris has written to Irish media outlets asking them not to use Drinkaware information.