Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 7 Dec 2021
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
Events industry
1. In our lead story today, senior reporter Michelle Hennessy speaks to theatres, music venues and promoters who say they were “blindsided” by new Covid-19 restrictions on the industry.
Organisers were given only a few days to rearrange plans for events that had already sold tickets for higher than 50% capacity before the new rules were announced.
Some have chosen to cancel or reschedule while others are scrambling to add additional performances or ask customers to move to a different date.
Storm Barra
2. Met Éireann has issued warnings around the country, including Status Red for three counties, as strong winds blow in this morning.
Schools and colleges are closed in more than ten counties today with some flights being cancelled and delayed.
Follow along with our liveblog for all the latest updates here.
Power
3. Thousands of homes are without electricity after the storm made landfall earlier this morning.
ESB Networks has recorded faults in in Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Dublin, Offaly, Cavan and Monaghan.
One of the worst hit areas is Ardnagappary in Donegal, where a fault affected more than 14,000 customers.
Ghislaine Maxwell
4. A second accuser has testified in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial, saying she coordinated sexual encounters with Jeffrey Epstein.
The woman testifying, going by “Kate”, said Maxwell would invite her over and escort her to massage rooms to meet Epstein from when she was 17-years-0ld.
Maxwell, who has pleaded not guilty to six counts of enticing and transporting minors for sex, is accused of grooming underage girls to be exploited by Epstein.
Housing
5. First-time buyers paid an average deposit of almost €52,100 in the first half of 2o21.
Nearly 42% of first-time buyers used gifts as part of their deposits during the first half of the year, the latest Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) housing market monitor shows.
For mover-purchasers, deposits were an average of €135,000.
Emmett Till
6. The US Justice Department is ending its investigation into the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till.
The teenager was abducted, tortured and killed at age 14 after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman.
The Justice Department reopened the investigation after a 2017 book quoted Donham as saying she lied when she claimed that Till grabbed her, whistled and made sexual advances, but relatives have denied that she recanted her allegations.
Coronavirus
7. Public health officials confirmed 2,950 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland yesterday.
536 people were in hospital with Covid-19, including 110 in ICU.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that “during these winter months it is vital that if any of us experience symptoms of Covid-19, we isolate immediately and arrange a PCR test”.
PUP
8. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is reopening today for people who lose their jobs as a result of the latest restrictions imposed by the government.
Five rates ranging from €150 to €350 per week will be paid depending on a person’s previous income.
“This is not where any of us wanted to be, however, reopening PUP for those directly impacted will provide vital support during these difficult times,” Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said.
Olympics
9. Abroad, the United States has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on human rights grounds.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the country would send no diplomatic or official representation because of China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses”.
Athletes on Team USA are still due to compete at the Games.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
You have to laugh…… the NWC gets over a million euros per annum ( no idea what for)….. they go ALL IN, real hard on the yes/yes side……& now, the best they can come up with is ‘ it was a wake up call’, like seriously???? Roderic o gormans seat on the gravy train HAS to be looking shaky. The biggest winners in the whole fiasco are Michael mcdowell & Peadar Tobin
@Ken Mc Carthy: The womans Council of Ireland ? They are getting massive Taxpayers money for what? they don’t repesent me or any women I know Jumping on the band wagon to try & be relevant they just look after the liberal agenda & no one else gets a look in
@Ken Mc Carthy: So basically, we are going to still let the out-of-touch ‘Brexiteers’, (for want of a better word), dictate policy to the ‘Remainers’. If the NWC and others got it so wrong what does that say about their overall policy decisions?
Tone deaf and completely out of touch. There was nothing in that referendum that aimed to help the women of Ireland, or those in need of ongoing care. That is why the majority voted no
There has to be questions asked on the way these NGOS are funded
@Paul Maguire: The first of said questions being, how soon can we defund?
@Mike: bullshit
@Mike: they do not represent the women of Ireland they have a completely different agenda and this same group that call themselves the National Women’s Council of Ireland and received a million euro last year in funding and tried to use that same funding to erase women and mother out of that constitution that protects women. They need to be defunded and renamed as they do not in any way represent women.
@Aisling Farrell: Thank you, Aisling! I agree that their role is pure utter bullshit. I’m delighted that you feel the same way.
@Aisling Farrell: Nobody agrees with you. You must feel pretty silly now. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
People have had enough of the constant pandering to a tiny minority of the population. Michael McDowell summed it up perfectly.
The NWC have never represented women in the home, mothers who take care of their own children , carers who look after elderly parents, sick or disabled family members, disabled people who want to be acknowledged in their own right and have their own entitlements . Tom Clonan is correct that Ireland must “act to legislate and vindicate the rights of disabled citizens.” , and I would go further , the same legislation and vindication of carers rights particularly the carers affected by the 2012 legislation which denies them an old age pension as they do not meet the 520 paid contributions rule. It is demeaning to suggest Irish voters did not understand or were confused by the wording of the referendum, people simply saw through the governments intentions and unwillingness to commit to treating carers and disabled persons with legally enforceable rights and supports. For their arrogance and disregard , the government got what they deserved, a resounding NO.
She’s gone into classic ‘justify my salary’ mode so endemic within pointless NGO’s. Its called democracy, had the yes side prevailed then I’ve no doubt that line would be thrown at us like stones.
The poor NGOs, crying into their echo chambers.
Maybe stop including males in your definition of women. Just a thought.
The women’s council was not speaking on my behalf with a yes vote
Out of control NGO’S. ARROGANCE.
End wokeness!
Squirming making excuses… they’ll just keep pushing it under whatever guise till they get what they want.
Would it ever occur to Orla O’Connor and her overpaid colleagues that people are fed up with those we elect to govern delegating power to unelected NGOs. The money squandered and the power given to the NGOs is a national disgrace.
The worst thing about this referendum was the blatant lies from the Government and the Yes side. Do not patronise the people. The synical move to run it on international womens day on top of it all. It had zero to do with womens rights and everything to do with removing the right to stay at home and raise your child and also with pushing the rights of a family into the courts. It was a disgrace from the start. As a supporter, Sinn Fein made a very bad call on this one.
@Colm Mac Diarmada: No cynical remarks on spelling. Any other cynical remarks welcome.
@Colm Mac Diarmada: it had nothing to do with removing women’s or anyone else’s rights. There are plenty of people who work in the home and not all of them are women. . The aim was to include all who do and recognise the value they give to society.
And there is no plot to force mothers out to work.
Those families who do not confirm to the traditional model must be feeling seriously disturbed by the result of the vote.
@Dublin Doll: You seem quite disturbed, dolly. Most other people seem just fine. The people spoke, deal with it.
Nwc who represent the vast majority of irish women in affluent dublin must be bitterly disappointed
Time to scrap these ngos
How can you expect people to vote for a constitutional change without clearly explaining what that entails, the arrogance is unbelievable and if I were Mary Lou I’d quit while I was ahead, talking about a rewording and revote if they get into power smacks is Lisbon 2!
Sometimes I think Sinn Fein just don’t want to be in government.
P.S. I heard Tom Clonan talk about it and that was enough for me!
Time to end funding to this NGO, they don’t represent the Irish people & in particular Irish women. All the women in my home voted No. The NWC is dominated by political vested interests. O Connor should step down with immediate effect as she doesn’t have her finger on the pulse of the Irish nation & in particular Irish women. The level of funding they are getting should be invested instead in women with disabilities, instead of CEO’s
The NWC do not represent the majority of women in this country. They are an NGO dependant on the state for their funding and salaries. They do not advocate for the average women but for the tiny elite who like to tell women how they should vote.
Think its bad now,if sf/pb4p/gp/ lp get in the ngo’s will be running the country
@Fran Mooney: Yes, it is bad now. Also, I agree SF might not be much better. What is your solution?
For all those calling the NWCI an NGO, they are not. FOI requests confirm that 97% of their salaries are paid by the government which makes them a government mouthpiece. They do not represent women in Ireland, they represent the government and by default the EU or more precisely the EC.
The Natural Women’s Council speaks with so much more sense , conviction and belief than the very well paid National Women’s Council.
NGO just money to the administration big salary for directors and all propaganda
Nwc and Family carers organisation Orla and Mrs Cox I’d say are Card carrying FIne Gaelers divorced from the real world
@Tim Brennan: they should be gone & good riddance
Back to the sink
The real message in there is that people have enough of all these wasters. All these speech on women equality, on gay rights and so on
These politicians are so use to rule without taking any advice and use to get away with it, are now reminded that the people decide. Yes, it is a republic !
But the sad thing here is that none of them will do the correct things like resign, call for a general election, review their politics…etc… they actually will continue the only way they know, brushing this on their shoulder like dust and not have a second thought. They were nearly all in it for a yes. This show how much they are all out of touch !
And the worse thing ? They will be no consequences for them and they know it !
Some woeful rubbish being spouted in here
Bottom line the Irish electorate are not fools
Listening to the reason for a no vote on the family side, I can say it was to protect marriage and exclude other families to keep them locked out of widow government supports. Look at it this way if an aerlingus plane is about to fall from the sky imagine the air hostess asking people if they are married or not, just like the government does. See this in your head the air hostess handing out life vest ask are you married and you say yes then you get a life vest but if you say you are not married you cannot have one.
You’re left to fend for yourself without support. That’s what people voted to keep. Marriage is a religious declaration not for everyone.
The most success government Party to attack different families has been the Fine Gael and Labour coalition.
@Liam Foy: ??? No idea what that rant is supposed to be about…..if the plane was ‘ falling out of the sky’ I’d be thinking…’mmmm … bacardi& coke would be nice’
@Liam Foy: Marriage is not a religious declaration, it is a legally, socially sanctioned union which is voluntary, setting a relationship on a public, official and permanent basis and is a consensual and contractual relationship recognised by law.
@Liam Foy: Marriage has nothing to do with religion and was around long before any church or such was formed
@Ken Mc Carthy: the rant is the current democratic treatment of women with children not married in Ireland. The plane was an example of the inequality that exists. The resounding no today is the resounding no from government for decades towards women on their own with children. Mostly those who partners have deceased.
@Liam Foy: nope…. still ‘lost’….. you know the government were looking/ pushing for a ‘ yes/yes’ today right???
@Liam Foy: Such a load of twaddle, get out more clear yiur head
The wording was Awful. I just couldn’t vote for that.
They are not fit for purpose, just another Quango at the trough.
Karen Kiernan is saying they have been working for 50 years so that single parents can no longer be fired or evicted? What sort of attitude is that? Why should anyone be exempt from either situation? The WRC are there for perceived workplace injustice and the RTB for tenant and landlord issues. I dont think you need constitutional protection for that
The NWC are obviously not very representative of women. This publicly funded quango should be disbanded.
@Padraig O’Brien:
I can’t find it / them on the Charities Regulator website.
@Padraig O’Brien:
Sorry – I found it / them.
No staff, No volunteers, Assets €450k
https://www.nwci.ie/
A wishey washey attempt by ffg trying to play to everyone
You also spelled patronize wrong. Maybe your 50 and tired….. but ultimately happy with the result.
@Colm Mac Diarmada: you’re
@h5kFhdYI: As in “you’re being petty”. Sign of an unfulfilled existence they say.
National Women’s Council of Ireland. A mutual admiration society for the top hens in the pecking order. Describes itself as a charity – obviously charity begins at home.
The Irish constitution in no way prohibits women from doing anything they want. Everyone knows this. This was a deeply pointless waste of time and money. Going through the constitution with a fine tooth comb to find something that only hypothetically effects everyday life is a futile and meaningless exercise.
Those responsible are morons.
have your say