LAST UPDATE | 4 Oct 2023

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

GDP

1. Ireland Gross Domestic Product is expected to contract this year – the first episode of negative GDP growth since 2012.

A new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), published today, states that the domestic economy is set to continue to grow this year and into next year,

However, it states that GDP is expected to decline by 1.6% this year due to “the disproportionate impact of the multinational sector on headline economic data”.

Creeslough memorial

2. A memorial service and commemoration will take place this weekend to mark the first anniversary of the Creeslough explosion.

Ten people, including three children, were killed in the blast at the Applegreen service station in Creeslough on 7 October 2022.

A memorial service and commemoration will take place at the site of explosion this coming Saturday at 3pm.

Tillage farming

3. The Journal’s investigative platform Noteworthy has examined how dairy expansion has combined with years of policy neglect to leave grain growers struggling to survive.

Many tillage farmers feel left behind in State policy in favour of the more emissions-heavy dairy sector, Niall Sargent reports.

Ousted speaker

4. Kevin McCarthy has been axed as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a brutal rebellion by the far-right of the Republican party furious at his cooperation with Democrats.

The unprecedented manoeuvre laid bare the chaotic levels of internecine squabbling in Republican ranks as they prepare for a 2024 presidential election effort led by Donald Trump.

He is making history of his own as the first former or serving president subject to multiple criminal indictments and was in court in New York today.

Trump trial

5. A judge has imposed a limited gag order on Donald Trump after the former president disparaged a key court employee during his civil business fraud trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued the order, which applies to all parties in the case and pertains only to verbal attacks on court staff.

It came after Trump recirculated a disparaging social media post about Judge Engoron’s principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield.

Without naming him, Judge Engoron said a defendant in the case “posted to a social media account a disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff.”

RTÉ

6. An expansion of the terms of reference of the work of the forensic accountants investigating matters in RTÉ has been requested by the Expert Advisory Committee on Governance and Culture, Media Minister Catherine Martin will confirm tomorrow.

The minister will appear before the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media today, where she will discuss the oversight of RTÉ and its long term funding plan.

These new terms of reference will inform the deliberations of the Expert Advisory Committee and will be published alongside their final report after it has been submitted to the minister.

Venice

7. At least 21 people, including two children and foreigners, were killed this evening and several others wounded when a bus running on methane plunged off a bridge in Venice and caught fire.

“A tragedy has struck our community this evening”, mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on Facebook, describing the site of the crash as “an apocalyptic scene”.

“The provisional toll is at least 21 fatalities and over 20 people hospitalised,” said Luca Zaia, the governor of the Venice region, deploring a “tragedy of enormous proportions”.

Maryland

8. At least four people have been shot at a university in the US state of Maryland.

The Baltimore Police Department said officers were on the scene for an “active shooter situation” on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore.

The address given for the shooting appeared to match a residential building.

Bedbugs

9. The French government intends to hold emergency meetings this week to examine the rapid rise in reported bedbug cases.

The issue is becoming of public health concern as citizens report seeing the bugs in public spaces like public transport and cinemas, as well as two schools that became infested and have been temporarily shut.

France is in the middle of hosting the Rugby World Cup and Paris preparing to host the Olympics next year, adding additional urgency on officials to address the problem rapidly.