LAST UPDATE | 31 Mar 2021

EVERY MORNING, The Journal brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #VACCINATIONS: Garda and teachers’ unions have expressed concern at a surprise re-configuring of the government’s vaccination plan that will see people prioritised by age instead of profession.

2. #THE PATH AHEAD: The Government unveiled new plans yesterday to ease Covid-19 restrictions from 12 April. You can read them in more detail here. 

3. #HOSPITALISATIONS: The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has fallen below 300, according to latest figures from the Health Service Executive.

4. #MEANINGFUL SUMMER: Hotels, cafes, restaurants and places where food is sold will be able to apply for outdoor dining grants of up to €4,000 to help facilitate an ‘outdoor summer’ this year.

5. #HOUSE PRICES: A collapse in supply but continuing demand for homes saw the average house price rise by 7.6% in the year to March 2021, according to the latest Daft.ie House Price Report.

6. #RAINFORESTS: A new study based on satellite data has found that the destruction of Earth’s tropical forests accelerated last year in spite of the global pandemic.

7. #GENDER SERVICES: The Transgender Equality Network Ireland has warned that some trans people are facing a five-year waiting list for healthcare.

8. #ISAAC HORGAN: A man in his 40s who was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man at his home in Markievicz House in Dublin has been charged.

9. #WEATHER: It will be a mixed day across the country with cloud and outbreaks of rain in the western half of the country, but dry conditions in the east and southeast. Top temperatures will be between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius.