GOOD MORNING.

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

Water pollution

1. Farm inspections for water pollution have declined overall through the past decade, with almost 60 qualified investigators needed to bring Ireland’s oversight needs up to speed.  

That’s according to a draft report carried out for local authorities by its representative body the City and County Managers Association to examine council resources for farm inspections. 

It found that no central database for recording inspections exists as part of its survey of local authorities. 

Nato

2. The US won’t make special arrangements for Ukraine to join the Nato military alliance, has President Joe Biden said.

“They’ve got to meet the same standards. So we’re not going to make it easy,” the US president told reporters near Washington.

The comments come before NATO leaders are set to meet in Lithuania next month.  

Lightning strike

3. Two lifeguards who were taken to hospital for monitoring after a lightning strike in Co Kerry did not suffer any wounds, a leader in Irish water safety has said.

The lightning strike on Banna beach occurred shortly before 4pm.

A yellow weather warning for Kerry and surrounding counties was issued by Met Eireann at 1:30pm on Saturday, but the lifeguards were still attempting to clear people from the water when the strike happened.

Record breaking

4. Andrew Coscoran has broken the national record for the 1,500m after an impressive performance at the Meeting Nikaia in Nice.

Coscoran clocked an excellent time of 3:32.68 to clinch the win and also break Ray Flynn’s record of 3:33.5 which he set in Oslo in 1982.

The Dubliner was in second place coming into the final bend of the race before surging through the gears to overtake New Zealand’s Samuel Tanner while also holding off Niels Laros of the Netherlands.

Collision

5. A man has died in a two-car collision in County Kerry. 

Gardaí have said that the man was killed in the crash which happened at around 4pm on the R552 in Ballylongford. 

The driver of one of the cars suffered fatal injuries – he was alone in the vehicle.

Energy plan

6. A deadline to submit a draft energy plan to the EU by the end of this month will likely be missed as the Minister for Climate expects that the draft will only be published “later this year”.

EU member states are required to send a draft of their updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) by 30 June before submitting a final version next year.

Under the plans, each country is required to outline how it will address decarbonisation, energy efficiency, energy security, internal energy market research, and innovation and competitiveness.

Christy Dignam

7. The funeral and public farewell of Christy Dignam took place yesterday in Finglas, Co Dublin.

A crowd of mourning family, friends and fans followed the Aslan frontman’s hearse through Finglas, before gathering outside of Erin’s Isle GAA Club.

His fellow bandmates and hundreds from the community in Finglas and all over Dublin were seen paying their respects to the singer.

Kerry hospital

8. Violent thunderstorms with torrential rain caused flooding across the town of Tralee yesterday, with the local hospital forced to tell people to stay away.

Reports from the town showed deep water in streets but one of the most affected locations was University Hospital Kerry (UHK), which pleaded with the public to stay away as it had been inundated. 

Nottingham attack

9. A triple murder suspect has been remanded in custody by magistrates after two students and a school caretaker were killed in knife and van attacks in Nottingham.

Former University of Nottingham student Valdo Calocane, who gave his name as Adam Mendes, appeared in the dock at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday wearing a grey T-shirt and grey jogging bottoms, and flanked by three security officers.

The 31-year-old is accused of murdering first-year students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber and school caretaker Ian Coates in the early hours of Tuesday morning.