LAST UPDATE | 21 Dec 2021

GOOD MORNING.

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

Kevin Lunney

1. In our main story this morning, reporter Garreth MacNamee outlines the key locations mentioned in proceedings around the abduction of Kevin Lunney. 

Three men were convicted at the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in Dublin last month. Yesterday, all three were handed long sentences of between 18 and 30 years for their role in abducting and torturing the businessman.

Lunney suffered “life-changing” injuries, according to the PSNI. He was targeted because of his business and the job title he held, the court was told.  

Trade

2. Brexit has driven a sharp decline in trade between Ireland and Britain this year but the drop has been largely offset by an increase in cross-border trade, according to fresh analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Department of Finance.

Over 40% of the Republic of Ireland’s imports from the United Kingdom overall came from Northern Ireland in the first half of 2021 — up from just 6% in 2015.

But imports from Britain represented just 7.2% of total Irish imports in the first half of 2021, down from 23% in 2015. 

Cabinet meeting

3. The Cabinet is due to meet this morning to discuss financial support for businesses affected by the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions.

Ministers will discuss changes to the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) among other issues. Today’s meeting is scheduled to be the final one of the year.

AIB

4. The State intends to sell part of its 71% stake in AIB over the next six months, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has announced.

The holding — which the government built up after rescuing the bank in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis — will be drip-fed to the market through a pre-arranged trading plan managed by US bank Merrill Lynch International.

The plan is similar to the one used by the government to sell part of its remaining bailout-era stake in Bank of Ireland this year.

UK Omicron

5. New restrictions in the UK are unlikely to stop Christmas celebrations this week but Boris Johnson has urged caution amid speculation further measures will be needed to halt the spread of the Omicron variant.

But as the UK Prime Minister promised to keep the data under constant review, the Queen abandoned her Christmas at Sandringham and London mayor Sadiq Khan cancelled the capital’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Newgrange

6. For the second year in a row, members of the public will not be admitted to Newgrange to view the Winter Solstice sunrise as the chamber remains closed due to Covid-19.

The solstice sunrise event will once again be live-streamed from within the chamber, and can be viewed live here from 8.45am today and tomorrow.

Japan

7. Japan has hanged three prisoners in the country’s first executions in two years, with the government saying it was necessary to maintain capital punishment in the face of continued “atrocious crimes”.

Japan is one of the few developed countries to keep the death penalty and public support for capital punishment remains high despite international criticism, especially from rights groups.

More than 100 people are currently on death row, most of them for cases of mass murder. Executions are carried out by hanging, usually long after sentencing.

Ghislaine Maxwell

8. A New York jury has begun considering the fate of Ghislaine Maxwell after prosecutors and defense attorneys laid out their closing arguments in the British socialite’s sex crimes trial.

Judge Alison Nathan instructed the 12-person jury to begin deliberating on six counts related to the alleged recruiting and grooming of young girls for abuse by late US financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell faces an effective life sentence if found guilty of all the charges. The jury must reach unanimous verdicts on each counts.

Defence Forces

9. The Defence Forces is set to be ordered to hand back millions of euro in unspent budget, the Department of Defence has confirmed.

Security sources told The Journal that upwards of €20m could be returned to the exchequer – while the Department of Defence has blamed Covid-19 and supply chain problems for the underspend.

It is the first time in a number of years that the Defence Forces will be forced to hand back its unspent budget, rather than being able to spend it on big ticket items.