LAST UPDATE | 22 Dec 2022
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. In our lead story this morning, Christina Finn reports that the Taoiseach is to meet housing experts in the coming weeks to accelerate the Government’s housing plans.
In his Dáil speech after being elected on Saturday, Leo Varadkar conceded that bottlenecks needed to be cleared and thousands of unactivated planning permissions had to be turned into new homes.
2. A community group in Dublin’s East Wall has said that residents have been extremely supportive of their efforts to support asylum seekers in the area.
Protests have been held in the area since the asylum seekers were housed in the building, with those in attendance calling for it to be closed.
The group said that many residents expressed an interest in volunteering with the group.
3. The funeral of Private Seán Rooney, who was killed in Lebanon last week, is taking place today in Dundalk.
His remains were flown back into Ireland on Monday by Air Corps aircraft having flown from Beirut.
His funeral will take place in Dundalk at 9am, followed by a burial service in All Saints Catholic Church, Colehill, Donegal at around 3.30pm this afternoon.
4. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that US aid for his country is “not charity” but an investment in democracy.
Three hundred days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine with hopes of swift conquest, Zelenskyy enjoyed a hero’s welcome on a lightning trip to Washington, but he also made clear he would not accept any pressure to compromise.
5. The murder of a pregnant woman in Co Armagh has been described as a “double tragedy”.
Natalie McNally died on Sunday after being stabbed in her home in Lurgan.
Police said she was 15-weeks pregnant.
6. An Cailín Ciúin has made history in becoming the first Irish-language feature film to be shortlisted for an Oscar.
It’s been shortlisted by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for this year’s Best International Feature Film category.
7. Parents should take time to set up safety features and parental controls on any new devices being given to their children for Christmas before wrapping it up, an online safety expert has said.
Child psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, who is an ambassador for child online safety group Internet Matters, said setting up new gadgets ahead of time could help parents “stay in control” of what their children accessed.
8. France’s privacy watchdog has fined US tech giant Microsoft €60 million for foisting advertising cookies on users.
The French regulator found that “when users visited this site, cookies were deposited on their terminal without their consent, while these cookies were used, among others, for advertising purposes.”
9. Channel 4′s Christmas message will be written by AI and read out by a robot, the British broadcaster has announced.
The message will be delivered by Ameca, one of the world’s most advanced robots.
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