LAST UPDATE | 14 Dec 2023
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. More than 60 asylum-seeking children have disappeared from State care after arriving in Ireland alone.
Of the dozens of separated migrant minors who have vanished from Tusla accommodation since 2017, 44 are no longer being searched for by the child welfare agency – because they reached their 18th birthday while missing.
A Noteworthy investigation has uncovered that, in many cases, no public appeals for the missing children were made by An Garda Síochána.
2. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and fellow EU leaders arrive in Brussels today for a summit where many member state heads are expected to face off against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as he threatens to veto a massive aid package and a start to membership talks for Ukraine.
The crunch summit in Brussels – which diplomats fear could drag on longer than the two days planned – comes as fears mount over Western backing for Ukraine nearly two years into Russia’s war.
Kyiv is desperately seeking to improve the narrative after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy failed in Washington to win over Republican lawmakers blocking support from the United States.
3. Us president Joe Biden’s national security advisor will visit Israel today to hold discussions with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet “about timetables” for the operation, as a sign of the US pressure on Israel.
Its leaders intend to press ahead with the Gaza Strip war against Hamas, despite coming under increasing international pressure, including from key ally the United States, with Biden criticising Israel for its “indiscriminate” bombing campaign.
The visit of advisor Jake Sullivan comes in the wake of Palestinian militants carrying out one of the deadliest single attacks on Israeli soldiers since the Gaza invasion began, killing at least nine in an urban ambush.
4. The US House of Representatives has authorised an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process.
It’s despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president.
Biden, in a rare statement about the impeachment effort, questioned the priorities of House Republicans in pursuing an inquiry against him and his family.
5. A ‘real sense of momentum’ is present in talks to restore Stormont according to one unionist leader, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin hoping the devolved parliament can be return in the coming days.
Talks involving Northern Ireland’s main political parties and the UK government are to continue on Monday after failing to conclude as planned yesterday.
However, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted there is more work to be done before his party is prepared to return to powersharing.
6. Justice Minister Helen McEntee has received Cabinet approval to publish the draft legislation for garda use of facial recognition technology (FRT).
The legislation will allow An Garda Síochána to use biometric identification to retrospectively search CCTV in some circumstances, and was pushed forward in the wake of the Dublin riots.
While the draft legislation has been approved, it will now need to go through pre-legislative scrutiny before being finalised, which means it could be next year at the earliest before it comes into effect.
7. A man in his 50s has died after he was found with serious injuries in a cycle lane in Sligo.
Gardaí attended the scene on Pearse Road in the town shortly after 11:30pm last night.
They found the cyclist with serious injuries and while he was brought by ambulance to Sligo University Hospital, he was later pronounced deceased.
It’s understood gardaí believe there was no other vehicle involved in the incident.
8. The Dáil has heard that a woman who was informed that her baby has a fatal foetal abnormality at 22 weeks was told she could not access abortion services in Ireland, and instead advised to travel to Liverpool.
TD Bríd Smith said a young couple contacted her yesterday, after they were told by health professionals at a multidisciplinary meeting that the woman cannot access termination services here, as it is “impossible to tell” how long her baby would survive after birth.
Smith said that the baby has one enlarged kidney which is covered in cysts, and has a lack of amniotic fluid around its body.
The People Before Profit deputy told the Dáil that the mother, who is in pain, was told to travel to Liverpool over Christmas to get a termination.
9. The Irish economy is continuing to grow despite a contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year.
In its quarterly economic commentary report published today, the Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) said that while the underlying Irish economy continues to grow, external sources of growth are slowing.
Exports and investment levels in the domestic economy have registered negative growth rates in recent quarters, the ESRI said, mainly due to the slowdown in multinational enterprise-related activities.
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