LAST UPDATE | 21 May 2021
GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. A video circulating online posted to Dolores Cahill’s Facebook page has claimed that peoples’ insurance policies are “null and void” if they receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
In our lead story today, Orla Dwyer debunks this claim and others made in the video about drivers being technically uninsured if they wear a face mask while driving.
The piece is focused on whether insurance companies were putting a “legal notice” online to say insurance policies won’t cover people after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine “because it’s not approved”.
2. A ceasefire has been agreed between Israel and Hamas in recent hours after 11 days of deadly fighting.
It came into force in the early hours of this morning with celebrations heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air, while in the occupied West Bank, joyful crowds also took to the streets.
With no alerts sounding in Israel to warn of incoming Hamas rockets, the ceasefire appeared to be holding in the early hours of today.
3. The HSE cyber attack, which was first reported a week ago now, started when a single computer stopped working and its user reached out for help by clicking on a link.
The Journal reported that a HSE worker, apparently struggling to access a non-functioning computer, sought help when prompted to do so in a file on their computer.
4. Yesterday, a woman was found not guilty by reason of insanity of the murders of her three children last year.
The father the three children, Andrew McGinley, has launched a stinging criticism of the HSE’s Mental Health services.
He questioned the diagnosis for his wife Deirdre Morley and said that questions on her medication and care were not properly addressed.
5. On to travel, the European Parliament and EU member states reached a deal paving the way for a Covid-19 certificate that will help open up travel in Europe for the summer.
The deal will allow for anybody living in the EU’s 27 countries to secure a digital health pass by the end of June that displays their vaccination status, results of Covid-19 tests or whether they have recovered from a coronavirus infection.
6. Martin Bashir’s interview with Princess Diana fuelled her “fear, paranoia and isolation” in the final years of her life and damaged her relationship with the Prince of Wales, Prince William has said in a condemnation of the BBC.
His brother, Prince Harry also hit out at the corporation, saying: “The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life.”
7. The number of checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain could be reduced by 80%, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said.
Coveney said that option exists within the Northern Ireland Protocol if the UK was willing to agreed a common approach to standards in relation to veterinary practices, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards on food.
8. Tax increases should wait until after the economy has recovered from the pandemic but may be necessary to fund future public spending.
That’s the message from the ESRI this morning in a new report on the range of options available to policymakers, current and future, Ian Curran writes in today’s Morning Memo.
With some Irish tax categories in “terminal decline” and others, like corporation tax, increasingly unreliable amid a tense international atmosphere, the economists say broad-based tax increases, taxes on wealth and the removal of “questionable” tax reliefs could all be considered.
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9. The rain continues this morning, especially in Munster and Leinster, with conditions cool and cloudy alongside showery outbreaks.
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