GOOD MORNING.

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

Citizens’ Assembly on drug use
1.Gardaí would have “grave concerns” around any potential legalisation of controlled drugs, a senior officer has said.

Garda assistant commissioner Justin Kelly told the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use in Dublin that international experiences had shown that legalisation did not remove the influence of organised crime groups in the illicit drugs trade.

The far-right

2. Overcrowded accommodation, child welfare and fears about far-right figures are among the concerns that TDs have relayed to Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman about the refugee crisis in the past year.

Correspondence seen by The Journal also reveals how several TDs lobbied the minister after their constituents heard nothing back about offers to provide accommodation to asylum seekers.

Road death

3. A man in his 60s has died in a traffic collision this morning in Co Kerry.

The man was cycling on the Killorglin-Cromane Road when he was struck by a car.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Burning man

4. Thousands of Burning Man attendees were forced to trudge through mud – many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet – as flooding from storms swept through the Nevada desert.

Organisers closed vehicle access to the counter-culture festival on Saturday and revellers were urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies.

Rise in road deaths

5. Ireland’s rapid improvement in road safety appears to have plateaued, as annual road fatalities are on track to increase for the second year in a row.

As the nation has been shocked and saddened by a number of particularly tragic incidents recently, the Department of Transport has said the reversal of decades of progress is “alarming”.

Fair City

6. Fair City was the topic of conversation for many this week given the introduction of a new character to Carrigstown.

Fergal Boyle, played by actor Craig Connelly, is the estranged brother of Gar and is presented as having far-right views. 

A recent episode of the RTÉ soap saw Fergal posting far right-wing flyers and he also went on a conspiracy-laden monologue about card payments.

Energy credits

7. The Minister for Finance has told RTÉ that the next budget will contain targeted and universal measures to help households pay energy bills this winter. 

Cashel Tragedy

8. The funeral of the couple and their grandson who died in a car crash in Tipperary five days ago will take place later today. 

Thomas Reilly, Bridget Reilly, and their three year old grandson will be laid to rest. 

Typhoon hits Taiwan 

9. Thousands of people were evacuated, hundreds of flights cancelled and businesses closed in Taiwan as authorities prepared Sunday for Typhoon Haikui, the first major storm to directly hit the island in four years.