GOOD MORNING.

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

Mother and Baby Homes

1. Twenty complaints about alleged crimes related to mother and baby homes are currently being investigated by An Garda Síochána.

In January 2021, the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes published its final report.

After the report was published, An Garda Síochána asked members of the public who were aware of any alleged crimes related to mother and baby homes, county homes or similar institutions to contact them. 

Vicky Phelan

2. Family and supporters of the late Cervical Check campaigner Vicky Phelan are to gather in her native village in Co Kilkenny later today for a celebration of her life.

A ceremony will be held in the Church of the Assumption in Mooncoin at 1pm. The service will also be livestreamed. 

Sinn Féin support

3. Support for Sinn Féin has dropped, according to a new opinion poll, but they still remain the country’s most popular party. 

The Red C poll for the Business Post shows the party is down four points to 31%, which is the lowest support level since September 2021. 

Green Party targets

4. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said he wants 10% of the electorate to vote for his party in the 2024 local elections, which would see a total of 100 Green city and county councillors.

Speaking at the party’s conference in Athlone yesterday evening, Ryan said the Greens were “proud to be the antidote” to populism and “shallow, quick fixes that won’t work”.

Pregnancy sickness drug

5. Women who suffer from extreme sickness during pregnancy will get access to a life-changing drug free of charge from January.

The drug, known as Cariban, is currently unavailable on the drugs payment scheme or medical card.

Housing protest

6. Thousands of people yesterday took part in a protest in Dublin to highlight the country’s housing crisis, with demonstrators calling for immediate action from the Government to address the shortage of housing.

The rally was organised by Raise the Roof, a campaign group made up of trade unions, advocacy groups, homelessness agencies and student unions and political parties.

Protests in China

7. Angry crowds took to the streets in Shanghai overnight, and videos on social media showed protests in other cities across China, as public opposition to the government’s hardline zero-Covid policy mounts.

A deadly fire on Thursday in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang region, has spurred an outpouring of anger as many social media users blamed lengthy Covid lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid strategy, with authorities wielding snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and mass testing to snuff out new outbreaks as they emerge.

Zelenskyy speech

8. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed that Ukraine would continue to resist Russian attacks, as the country marked the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor famine that affected millions of Ukrainians under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Several European leaders travelled to Ukraine to pledge support after weeks of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid caused widespread power and water cuts as temperatures plunge with the onset of winter.

“Once they wanted to destroy us with hunger, now – with darkness and cold,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on social media. But he added: “We cannot be broken.”

Doddie Weir death

9. Former Scottish rugby international Doddie Weir has died at the age of 52 after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), his family announced on Saturday.

Weir, who won 61 caps for his country and was selected for the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa in 1997, was diagnosed with MND in 2016.