GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. New rents in the final three months of last year were an average of 13.7% higher than in the same period in 2021, the latest rental report from Daft.ie shows.
The property website’s fourth-quarter report for 2022 indicates that the average market rent nationwide between October and December was 1,733 euro per month, up 2.7% compared to the third quarter of the year and 126% above the low of 765 euro in late 2011.
It said that in general, all parts of the country are experiencing “substantial” yearly increases in open market rents, and the availability of rental homes was near an all-time low.
2. U2 have confirmed they will be taking up a residency in Las Vegas.
The band will begin a run of dates at the newly opened MSG Sphere for an immersive show later this year.
News of the residency was confirmed during an advert at the 2023 Super Bowl last night.
3. Tributes are being paid to film producer James Flynn who has died at the age of 57.
Flynn, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated Banshees of Inisherin as well as Veronica Guerin, Angela’s Ashes and Love/Hate, has been described as an influential figure within the Irish film industry.
Culture Minister Catherine Martin led the tributes to him. She posted on Twitter: “I am greatly saddened by the news of the passing of James Flynn.His most recent success with the Banshees of Inisherin was the culmination of a career at the very forefront of Irish cinema & TV drama production.
4. Rescuers pulled more survivors from the rubble a week after an earthquake struck Turkey and Syria leaving more than 33,000 dead, as the UN warned the toll was set to rise far higher.
A young boy and a 62-year-old woman were the latest miracle rescues after nearly seven days trapped under the wreckage of collapsed buildings since last Monday’s devastating quake.
Seven-year-old Mustafa was rescued in southeast Turkey’s Hatay province while Nafize Yilmaz was pulled free in Nurdagi, also in Hatay, the Anadolu state news agency reported early Monday. Both had been trapped for 163 hours before their rescue late Sunday.
5. Desperate pleas from Irish citizens trapped in forced marriages and complications from medical tourism are just two of the diverse reasons why Irish people call for help from Irish diplomats.
This week The Journal looked at the work of the consular assistance service provided by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
It has been a busy few years for the 50-strong team based in Ireland, and for the diplomatic missions tasked with helping Irish people in difficulty abroad. There were 1,504 new cases last year besides the continued consular support for those still in difficulty from previous years.
6. A serving member of the Defence Forces has died following a parachuting accident in Spain.
In a statement, the Defence Forces confirmed that the member was off duty when the accident occurred.
“The Defence Forces can confirm that a serving member has died in a parachuting accident in Spain. He was off duty at the time,” a spokesperson for the Defence Forces said.
7. An “unidentified object” has been shot down with a missile by US fighter jets over Lake Huron, near the Canadian border.
It was believed to be the same one tracked over Montana and monitored by the government beginning the night before, US officials said.
The downing comes after earlier objects in Alaska and Canada were shot out of the sky because they were flying at altitudes that posed a threat to commercial aircraft, according to the officials.
8. Munster Technological University is to reopen today after campuses were closed last week due to an attack on its computer systems, RTÉ reports.
The university said that from today, classes will operate in line with existing schedules.
MTU said last night that information from its IT systems had been made available on the “dark web” by those who carried out the ransomware attack.
9. Dr Emma Howard: Investment in agriculture shouldn’t be about the status quo – but on moving away from intensive farming.
“Economics is a discipline concerned with the allocation of scarce resources. In theory, markets are a good way to organise economic activity and can provide an efficient allocation mechanism.
“When they are perfectly competitive, the market outcome is efficient. The price of the good reflects the cost of producing it, and goods are allocated to those who value them the most, as measured by consumers’ willingness to pay.
“In practice however, market failures often lead to inefficient outcomes. Externalities are one of the many reasons why markets fail.”
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