GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is to meet stakeholders this month over the redevelopment of the Irish Glass Bottle site amid concerns over the potential price tags for units at the new suburb in Dublin 4.
The Journal reported in June around fears about how ‘affordable’ housing at Poolbeg in would be delivered, with one council official saying the affordable homes could end up costing as much as €600,000 per unit.
The 37-acre Poolbeg site in Ringsend is one of the last large-scale pieces of development land left in Dublin city with up to 3,800 homes planned for what has been described as a ‘new suburb’ for the city.
2. Trade unions Ireland have raised concerns about workplace surveillance and alleged anti-union practices at Amazon warehouses following an announcement this week that the company plans to open its first fulfilment centre in Ireland.
In a statement on Thursday, the global e-commerce giant said it will create 500 jobs at the 630,000 square foot warehouse at Baldonnell Business Park in Dublin, which is due to open in 2022.
But long-standing concerns about allegations of anti-union activity and Amazon’s treatment of workers in other countries have re-surfaced in the wake of the announcement.
3. Later today, the world will watch as New York City marks the exact moment of the 20-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre.
The 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre in Manhattan, as well as on the Pentagon and the thwarted attempt on the Capitol, saw 2,977 people lose their lives, including six Irish citizens.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which is located at the ground zero site, is holding a morning ceremony where the names of all the victims will be read aloud.
4. Primary and secondary schools reopened their doors to students over the last couple of weeks after the summer holidays.
A lot has changed since they finished up – namely the dominance of the more transmissible Delta variant and soaring vaccinating rates.
As of Friday, 90% of adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but there are still upwards of 1,000 people testing positive for Covid each day.
Prince Andrew
5. Lawyers for the woman suing Prince Andrew over sexual assault allegations have claimed to have served legal papers on him, according to a document filed in a New York court.
The legal counsel, who represent Virginia Giuffre, say in the document that the civil lawsuit was handed to a Metropolitan Police officer who was on duty at the main gates of The Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park, on 27 August at 9.30am.
The PA news agency understands lawyers for the prince do not accept the papers have been served to him.
Prison break
6. Israeli police said they have arrested four of the six Palestinians who broke out of a maximum-security prison this week including a famed militant leader whose exploits over the years have made him a well-known figure.
The arrests moved Israel closer to closing an embarrassing episode that exposed deep flaws in its prison system and turned the fugitive prisoners into Palestinian heroes.
Late yesterday, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israel in an apparent sign of solidarity, drawing Israeli airstrikes in reprisal.
GSOC IT security
7. The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) has notified the Data Protection Commission following the discovery of an IT security “vulnerability”.
GSOC said that the body was alerted by a routine warning from the National Cyber Security Centre.
A source said there had been no security attack and there was no breach similar to the HSE ransomware incident.
Dublin attack
8. A YOUTH HAS been charged with sexually assaulting a female during a robbery along the Grand Canal in Dublin.
The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, appeared at the Dublin Children’s Court.
He was charged with sexual assault, threatening to kill or serious harm and assault causing harm to the complainant.
9. David Maher of SOLAS in Co Laois takes a look at five changes that can be made to your life to help your kids live a more greener life.
In his opinion piece David said he was determined when he opened his centre in Portarlington that it would be a model for absolute best practice for how to live a greener life.
In the piece he looks at composting, growing your own vegetables and how even the chickens can work to solve the problems of recycling.
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