LAST UPDATE | 23 Apr 2020

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #DEBT: Leo Varadkar will later urge fellow EU leaders to consider mutual sharing of the debt member states are incurring as they battle Covid-19.

2. #DIRECT PROVISION: Covid-19 crisis highlights how ‘unsuitable’ some Direct Provision conditions are, the Ombudsman said. 

3. #DRUG SEIZURES: Gardaí have made a number of large seizures of drugs and other illicit items due to the increased number of checkpoints in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.  

4. #DIVISIVE: A confidential government memo has said the next phase of Covid-19 measures in Ireland could be “far more divisive” with the public, the Irish Times reports today. The tone of the note was described as “jaw-dropping” by sources, the paper reports. 

5. #POLITICS: The Dáil is set to meet again today to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on the Irish economy.  

6. #NO HELP: The government’s offer to address the childcare challenges of healthcare workers “actively discriminates” against single parents and will not help the vast majority of nurses, their union has claimed.

7. #DROGHEDA: A man has been arrested and charged after spitting at a garda yesterday afternoon in Drogheda.

8. #PET CASES: Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the US, federal officials said.

9. #UNITED STATES: US president Donald Trump claims he has signed an executive order “temporarily suspending immigration into the United States” despite doubt from experts about its impact.