LAST UPDATE | 6 Dec 2021

GOOD MORNING.

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

Dublin City Council

1. In our lead story today, reporter Órla Ryan writes that late Anthony Flynn’s seat on Dublin City Council may remain vacant if councillors cannot agree on a replacement.

A vote on Flynn’s successor may happen at tonight’s meeting but it is likely to be deferred again after having already been pushed back and councillors are also considering leaving the seat vacant if they can’t agree on a candidate. 

Councillors have been at odds over who should replace the councillor, who was found dead at his home in East Wall in August. 

Christmas shopping

2. Retail workers are facing a “worrying” increase in verbal abuse as shops grow busier ahead of Christmas.

Trade union Mandate said it has received reports of a rise in altercations with customers in recent weeks, calling for more respect for workers.

Mandate General Secretary Gerry Light said the “least” that workers deserve is “a bit of patience and respect”.

Coronavirus

3. Health officials confirmed 5,156 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland yesterday afternoon. 

503 people were in hospital with Covid-19, including 110 who were in ICU.

Travel

4. With cases remaining high here and abroad, tighter rules for travelling into Ireland have come into effect.

People travelling to Ireland must have a recent negative Covid-19 test result.

The measure was due to come into efffect on Friday but was delayed over the weekend as rules “needed to be finalised”.

Restrictions

5. Representatives of the hospitality and events industries are meeting with senior government members today ahead of new restrictions coming into play tomorrow.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Culture Minister Catherine Martin are meeting industry reps after the government announced several new Covid-19 restrictions that start tomorrow until 9 January.

The measures include a 50% reduction in capacity at indoor cultural, entertainment, community and sporting events, as well as a midnight curfew staying in place for hospitality. 

Anglo-Irish Treaty

6. Today marks 100 years since the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London, shaping the course of Ireland’s history.

Its influence on Irish politics was far-reaching as a young Irish delegation signed the agreement that would deeply change the relationship between the two countries.

On the centenary of that deal, historian Donal Fallon writes for The Journal about how the Treaty negotiators were greeted in London and the significance of the document. 

Parole

7. No chief executive has been appointed to the new Parole Board in the nearly five months since it was launched by the Department of Justice.

The new Parole Board is fully independent for the first time from the Minister for Justice, but it yet to indicate when its lead role will be filled.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) says that “confusion is still rife among the people involved” in the area after a new Parole Act was enacted. 

Myanmar coup

8. A court in Myanmar has sentenced the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to four years in prison after finding her guilty of multiple charges.

Found guilty of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions, she received two years for each of the charges.

The cases against Suu Kyi are widely seen as contrived to discredit her and keep her from running in the next election over opposition to military rule.

‘Shipwreck of civilisation’

9. Pope Francis has called neglect of migrants the “shipwreck of civilisation”.

On a visit to the island of Lesbos, he rebuked European counties, which he said were “torn by nationalist egoism”.

“In Europe there are those who persist in treating the problem as a matter that does not concern them,” he said.