GOOD MORNING.

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

Children’s hospitals

1. In our lead story this morning, Michelle Hennessy reports that children’s hospitals have been forced to cancel surgeries due to a shortage of beds.

Children’s Health Ireland, which runs Crumlin, Tallaght and Temple Street children’s hospitals, has seen a “very high number” of attendances to its Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centre, resulting in the cancellation of some non-urgent procedures.

Around 40% of in-patient children in Children’s Health Ireland hospitals have Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a virus that presents with cold-like symptoms.  

Glasgow Pact

2. After long negotiations and an extended summit, countries reached a climate agreement at COP26 in Glasgow yesterday evening.

Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan said it was “deeply disappointing” that the language around phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies was watered down in the final version of the deal, which calls for acceleration of the phase out of “unabated coal and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”. 

Crucial issues for negotiations included climate finance for developing countries, fossil fuels, and the terms of a global carbon trading market. 

Deliberative democracy

3. As COP26 closes, PhD researcher Ursula Quill writes for The Journal that citizens’ inclusion in fair discussions about the public good lead to better political decisions, which, she says, would be a valuabel approach in facing the climate crisis.

“The deliberative processes in this country and beyond show a real willingness from people to engage with the science on climate change and to work collectively in their communities for climate action,” she writes for our Voices section.

Coronavirus

4. Public health officials confirmed 4,642 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland yesterday afternoon.

In hospitals, there were 556 patients with Covid-19, including 107 in ICU.

Nursing homes

5. 30 legal cases have been initiated against the State over deaths in nursing homes, hospitals or residential settings after people contracted Covid-19.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the number of claims currently being taken against the HSE “which arise from the death of a family member as a result of contracting Covid-19 in a nursing home, healthcare facility or hospital setting” is 30, according to the State Claims Agency.

The claims relate to incidents occurring within care settings and includes “the death of a service user or staff member”. 

Gardaí

6. Senior gardaí met US law enforcement agencies last week to discuss a collaboration in fighting international cybercrime and organised crime groups like the Kinahan gang. 

Commissioner Drew Harris and Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who leads Special Crime Operations, visited federal law enforcement agencies in Washington DC, where they were seen at US Secret Service headquarters.  

Two garda superintendents have been deployed to Washington DC and Colombia to work directly with organised crime investigators in North and South America.

Alcohol shortage

7. Bars and clubs Spain have struggled to stock their alcohol shelves since Covid-19 restrictions on social life were lifted last month.

Popular names like Beefeater gin, Absolut vodka and Patron tequila are difficult to find due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic.

“The lack of stock affects well-known international brands we never would have thought would one day be unavailable,” one venue’s manager said.  

Peatlands

8. Bord na Móna suffered four years of losses and then recorded a before-tax profit of nearly €28 million last year – how?

Cormac Fitzgerald for The Good Information Project looks at how, and at what cost, the company has radically changed in short amount of time.

Assault

9. Gardaí are investigating an assault on a man in the centre of Portlaoise in the early hours of yesterday morning.

A man in his 40s was seriously injured during the incident Main Street, Portlaoise. 

He was taken to Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise and later transferred to St James’ Hospital, Dublin.