GOOD MORNING AND happy Saturday.

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

Budget roundup

1. In our main story this morning, Lauren Boland details all of the key announcements within Budget 2023 now that the dust has finally settled on the €11 billion package.

Record homelessness

2. The number of homeless people in Ireland has hit record figures, with 10,805 people accessing emergency accommodation last month.

The latest figures, from the Department of Housing, surpass the previous record that was recorded in July, where 10,568 people were accessing emergency accommodation.

Ukraine annexation

3. Russia has vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory, with China and India abstaining.

The United States pushed through a resolution co-sponsored with Ukraine hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would take over areas of Ukraine seized in the invasion following Kremlin-organized referendums.

Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis

4. Capping civil servant salaries, abolishing the USC and setting up a dedicated Garda transport police are just some of the motions that will feature at this weekend’s Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis.

The event takes place in the RDS in Dublin today, with the party leader Taoiseach Micheál Martin due to give his speech at 6.30pm this evening. 

Energy price hikes

5. Energy price hikes for customers of Electric Ireland, SSE Airtricity and Bord Gáis will take effect this weekend.

Electric Ireland and SSE Airtricity have imposed the price hikes from today, while Bord Gáis is increasing costs from tomorrow.

Customers can expect hikes of between 27-35% on residential electricity bills and increases of close to 40% for residential gas bills.

Hurricane Ian

6. Rescue operations have begun in Florida this weekend in the wake of Hurricane Ian, with at least 30 people being confirmed dead following the massive storm.

The powerful storm terrorised millions of people for most of the week, battering western Cuba before raking across Florida from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, where it mustered enough strength for a final assault on South Carolina.

Nord Stream leaks

7. The four leaks affecting the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea were caused by underwater explosions corresponding to hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives, a Danish-Swedish report said today.

“The magnitude of the explosions was measured at 2.3 and 2.1 on the Richter Scale, respectively, probably corresponding to an explosive load of several hundred kilos,” the two countries said in a joint report to the UN Security Council.

National Lottery

8. A report on the regulation and spending of the National Lottery, released today, has found that in the past seven years an average of €17.7 million in prize money was unclaimed by winners.

The vast majority of this was used to supplement the lottery’s marketing budget.

Missile tests

9. North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early this morning, South Korea’s military said, the nuclear-armed country’s fourth launch this week as Seoul, Tokyo and Washington ramp up joint military drills to counter Pyongyang.