LAST UPDATE | 7 Jun 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Island living

1. In today’s lead story, political correspondent Christina Finn reports that house buyers who wish to refurbish and live in vacant and derelict properties on islands around Ireland’s coast will get a 20% top up on the Government’s Croí Cónaithe funding grant.

The new measure is contained in the ‘Our Living Islands’ strategy – the first national island policy in 27 years.

The maximum grant for island properties will be 20% higher for vacant properties – €60,000 compared to €50,000 on the mainland – and derelict properties on the islands can receive a grant provided of up to €84,000 compared to €70,000 on the mainland.

Leaving Cert

2. Over 130,000 students begin the Junior Certificate or Leaving Certificate exams today.

Most sitting are sitting their first ever state examinations as this year’s crops of sixth years saw their Junior Cert cancelled three years ago in 2020 due to Covid-19.

For the second year in a row, there will be a record-high number of students sitting exams. 

Cancer diagnoses

3. The number of cancers diagnosed during the first two years of the pandemic fell by a total of 8%, according to a report from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) and funded by the Irish Cancer Society.

Preliminary data on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic indicates that the number of cancer cases diagnosed in 2021 was down 1,665 cases or 6% lower than projected.

This is a smaller shortfall in diagnoses than the 10% observed in 2020.

High school shooting

4. Two people have been killed in a shooting after a high school graduation ceremony in the US state of Virginia.

Police said a 19-year-old, who was in custody following the incident yesterday, will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

A total of seven people were wounded in the shooting in the state’s capital, Richmond.

Economy

5. Ireland’s economy is recovering as inflation eases but other key challenges including capacity constraints have emerged, according to the Fiscal Advisory Council’s assessment of the government’s Stability Programme Update (SPU).

In a report analysing medium-term plans under the SPU, the Fiscal Council said the government must plan to manage windfalls and keep the public finances on track.

The Department of Finance has forecast a budget surplus of €65 billion over the next four years, and there has been lively debate over how it would best be spent. 

Fiscal Council chairman Sebastian Barnes said: “Ireland really does need to improve how it plans for the long term.”

Housing adaptation

6. The case of a woman who recently had her leg amputated being told she will have to wait until January 2024 to apply for a housing adaptation grant, despite having already been discharged from hospital, is under review, an Oireachtas Committee was recently told. 

Sinn Féin’s Imelda Munster raised the case the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week, whereby she claimed Louth County Council grant scheme was now closed to new applicants. 

Her comments come amidst concerns that the scheme is underfunded, given the rise in the inflation and construction costs. 

Ukraine

7. Ukraine is evacuating thousands of people after an attack on a major Russian-held dam unleashed a torrent of water, inundating two dozen villages and sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster.

Washington warned there would be “likely many deaths” as Moscow and Kyiv traded blame for ripping a gaping hole in the Kakhovka dam, which is located on the frontline and provides cooling water for Europe’s largest nuclear plant.

Kyiv said the destruction of the dam – seized by Russia in the early hours of the war – was an attempt by Moscow to hamper its long-awaited counteroffensive, which Ukraine’s leader stressed would not be affected.

Burglaries

8. There was a 2.8% decrease in residential burglaries during the winter of 2022/2023 compared to the previous summer, according to new gardaí figures.

There were 3,067 reported burglaries in summer 2022, compared to 2,988 that winter.

Gardaí from Operation Thor, which focuses on burglaries, said the trend “reverses traditional crime statistics”, which usually show a surge when daylight hours are fewer.

Prince Harry vs the press

9. The UK’s Prince Harry has accused the press of having “blood” staining their “typing fingers”, with some responsible for causing pain, upset and death.

He is currently suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, claiming journalists at its titles were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception, and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.