LAST UPDATE | 20 Sep 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Pension age

1. Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will today seek Cabinet approval that the pension age should not rise above 66.

Under the proposals, people who want to work longer can do so, and as a result will get a higher pension of about 5% each year past 66.

It follows on from the Taoiseach’s comments in July in which he said additional PRSI contributions will be needed to ensure the pension age is not increased.

The Ploughing is back

2. The National Ploughing Championships are returning in full swing today for the first time since before the pandemic.

Around 80,000 people are expected to attend each day of the event, which takes place over today, tomorrow and Thursday in Ratheniska, Co Laois. 

Here’s everything you need to know if you’re travelling to the event.

Chemical weedkillers

3. The latest Noteworthy investigation reveals widespread use of chemical weedkillers by local authorities across Ireland.

Local authorities’ spend on pesticides can reach as high as approximately €300,000 a year.

At least 28 councils use chemical herbicide while 19 confirmed the use of glyphosate – the controversial chemical found in popular weedkiller Roundup – products this year.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer determined glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

Cherry Orchard

4. Garda representatives and politicians have strongly condemned an incident in which a vehicle collided with a Garda car in Dublin in Dublin yesterday evening.

The incident occurred at around 7.30pm, after Gardaí responded to an incident of dangerous driving in the Cherry Orchard area of Ballyfermot.

Dramatic video footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media. It shows two cars driving at high speeds and performing hand brake turns in a residential area while a small crowd of young people watch and cheer.

Budget 2023

5. We’re just one week out from Budget 2023, with billions set to be spent on addressing the cost-of-living crisis being felt by people across the country.

The package, which was moved forward by two weeks due to the rising cost of living, is set to be supplemented by a separate package of once-off measures.

While the two money ministers, Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath, have been tight-lipped about where the €6.7 billion allocated earlier this year will be spent, budget kites have continued to be flown.

Here’s what we can expect from the package.

UK-US trade deal on ice

6. Liz Truss has conceded that negotiations for a post-Brexit free trade deal with the US will not restart for years as she flew to New York ahead of a meeting with Joe Biden.

The UK prime minister stressed her trade priority is striking agreements with India and the Gulf states, and joining a trade pact with nations including Australia and Japan.

But she heavily downplayed the chances of talks even resuming to get the comprehensive deal with the States that was billed by Brexit backers as a major benefit of leaving the EU during the referendum.

Podcast murder conviction tossed

7. A US judge has ordered the release of a man convicted in 2000 in a murder case that was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial.

At the behest of prosecutors in Baltimore, Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn ordered that Adnan Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee be vacated and she approved the release of the 41-year-old who has spent more than two decades behind bars.

Judge Phinn ruled that the state violated its legal obligation to share exculpatory evidence with Syed’s defence.

Hurricane Fiona

8. A strengthening Hurricane Fiona barrelled toward the Turks and Caicos Islands as it threatened to strengthen into a category three storm, prompting the government to impose a curfew.

Forecasters said Fiona could become a major hurricane as it passes near the British territory in the West Indies.

Air strike in Myanmar

9. At least 11 school children died in an air strike and firing on a Myanmar village, the UN children’s agency said, an attack the country’s junta said targeted rebels hiding in the area.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the military seized power in a coup in February last year, with nearly 2,300 civilians killed in a crackdown on dissent according to a local monitoring group.