LAST UPDATE | 2 Sep 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Foster care 

1. The Majority (76%) of foster carers would not recommend fostering to other familiesdue to the financial pressures involved and the lack of State support, a survey has found.  

Foster carers in Ireland currently get a weekly allowance per child of €352. They are not eligible for back-to-school payments, or for State pensions. 

Irish roads

2. Road deaths have gone up by almost 25% so far this year compared to the same period last year.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and gardaí said earlier this month that years of road safety progress “is being undone” as new figures revealed that road deaths in the first half of 2023 were the worst for six years.

C-sections

3. The rate of both C-sections and inductions has increased year-on-year in Ireland over the past 15 years.

Last year, ‘maternal request’ was the reason for over half of elective C-sections at the National Maternity Hospital. 

Laois tragedy

4. A toddler who died after being hit by a car this week will be laid to rest on Monday.

 Three-year-old Rosie McDonagh was struck by a car on Cosby Avenue in the Fairgreen area of Portlaoise on Wednesday afternoon.

Vera Pauw

5. Former Ireland coach Vera Pauw has said she is “absolutely fine” with captain Katie McCabe in her first interview since the FAI decided not to renew her contract.

Pauw yesterday put out a statement where she claimed the Association’s review of the World Cup that led to her exit was “flawed” and with a “pre-determined outcome.”

Sahel Coups

6. The last three years have seen eight governments toppled by military coups in six African countries, all them in the sub-Saharan region of the Sahel. 

While each junta has distinct declared reasons for overthrowing their governments, there are a number of factors that they share, including economic crises, security challenges and postcolonial histories. 

Leaving Cert

7. An international study has warned that grade inflation in the Leaving Cert needs to be controlled to protect the integrity of the exam. 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report also said how the CAO points system is unusual in the extent to which it is “competitive”, and how small differences in marks can affect college entry for school leavers. 

Extra TDs

8. Tánaiste Micheál Martin has defended plans to increase the number of TDs in Ireland, arguing they are “an expense we can’t afford”.

Martin was in Oxford today ahead of attending the British-Irish Association conference.

US shooting

9. Authorities in the US state of Ohio have released bodycam video showing a police officer fatally shooting Ta’Kiya Young in her car in what her family denounced as a “gross misuse of power and authority” against the pregnant black mother.

Sean Walton, a lawyer representing Young’s family, said the video clearly shows that the August 24 shooting of the 21-year-old was unjustified.