LAST UPDATE | 11 Aug 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Student accommodation

1. In our main story this morning, Muiris O’Cearbhaill reports that the Competition and Protection Commission (CCPC) has alerted third-level students to warning signs of potential rental scams and asked that they bear this in mind during their accommodation search.  

According to the CCPC, Gardaí have reported a 65% increase in accommodation scams since 2019 and students are under “severe pressure” this year in their hunt for accommodation.

Free GP care

2. Free GP care will be available for children aged six and seven can be registered for free GP care for the first time from today.

Families and guardians can register online for a GP Visit Card in the age group as part of the continued rollout of free GP services for children.

GP Visit Cards allow the holders to see their doctor without any charge, while still having to pay for medicines and other services.

HSE industrial action

3. Administration staff within the HSE have announced that they are taking industrial action over the health services ongoing ban on the recruitment of clerical workers, and the “over-reliance on agency staff”. 

Fórsa union members working in administrative roles within the HSE will not cooperate with financial reporting, will not engage with all elements of the new regional health areas, and won’t work outside of contracted hours, and may also commence a full strike “if it becomes necessary”. 

They are taking the action, following a union ballot, because they believe that the HSE is relying on external staff and private consultants “instead of upskilling and training its existing workforce or promoting them into vacant roles”. 

Retained firefighters

4. Trade union Siptu has said it has sought answers on whether social protection payments are being “deliberately blocked” for retained firefighters. 

It has claimed to have received reports across the country that its members are “having their payments refused because of the strike”. 

The 2,000-strong part-time service, who provides fire and first responder emergency services, has been engaged in industrial action for the past two months due to staffing numbers. 

Crumlin shooting

5. Investigations are underway after a shooting in Crumlin, Dublin yesterday evening. 

Gardaí were alerted to the discharge of a firearm in the Bangor Road area at approximately 9.10pm.

One man has been taken to hospital as a precaution.

PSNI data breach

6. Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable Simon Byrne has said that dissident republicans claim to be in possession of information circulating on WhatsApp following a data blunder.

Some 10,000 PSNI officers and staff have been affected by the breach, which emerged on Tuesday.

Garda industrial relations

7. A new industrial relations problem has broken out in An Garda Síochána as civilian staff are rebelling against a move that could see them tied to the organisation and not permitted to transfer out of it. 

High level talks have taken place between the Commissioner Drew Harris and representatives of civil service union Forsa in a bid to avert a major dispute, sources told The Journal. 

Hawaii wildfires

8. Fifty-three people have been killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll will likely continue to rise, Hawaii Governor Josh Green has said. 

A search of the wildfire devastation on the Hawaiian island of Maui yesterday revealed a wasteland of obliterated neighbourhoods and landmarks charred beyond recognition.

Murder probe

9. A murder investigation has been launched after a 10-year-old girl was found dead inside a home in Surrey, England. 

Surrey Police said officers were called to an address in Hammond Road, Woking, at around 2.50am yesterday following a concern for safety.

The force said the girl’s body was found inside the property.