LAST UPDATE | 14 Sep 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

TDs’ property

1. In our lead story this morning Shane Raymond reports that seven TDs with letting property interests have no rental income listed from them on the Dáil record.

Under guidelines which oversee compliance with disclosure of interests, TDs must declare any income from a “remunerated trade, profession, [or] employment”, including rental income, exceeding €2,600.

One TD registered 18 properties and no rental income.

Von der Leyen annual address

2. Europe’s fear a long winter with scarce energy supplies because of Russia’s war in Ukraine are expected to top an annual speech by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen today.

The “State of the European Union” address to the European Parliament is to focus on ways her European Commission can mitigate the looming crisis, which is being worsened by soaring inflation.

Minimum wage

3. The government is set to approve an 80 cent rise in the minimum wage this week.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar is set to bring a memo to Cabinet today on the minimum wage, which is being proposed to rise to €11.30 an hour.

It’s understood that the proposed increase would take place from 1 January 2023, alongside changes to PRSI and USC.

Sweden’s far-right

4. Sweden’s incumbent left-wing party looks set to be ousted following the country’s general election, which has seen the far-right Sweden Democrats make huge gains.

The nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has increased its polling in the last nine elections. This time around, it has been credited with nearly 21% of votes, its best result yet.

It is expected to become the second largest party in Sweden, which would allow it to work with the centre-right Moderates to defeat the left-wing bloc and form a government.

But what will a win for the right-wing bloc mean for Sweden, and for the rest of Europe?

Job losses

5. San Francisco based tech company Patreon has announced that it is closing its Dublin office, just three years after opening in the capital.

Patreon, which is a membership platform that helps entertainers sell their work to subscribers online, is also set to close its Berlin office.

This will result in the loss of 80 jobs, about 17% of the company’s staff.

Belfast murder

6. A 31-year-old man has been charged with the murder of 28-year-old Hollie Thomson in west Belfast.

He is due to appear before Belfast Magistrates’ Court today.

Police arrested the man yesterday earlier following the “sudden death” of Thomson on Sunday morning at a property in west Belfast.

Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s major investigation team launched a murder investigation following a post-mortem of her body.

UK royals

7. The hearse carrying Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin has arrived at Buckingham Palace in London.

The coffin lay at rest in the palace’s bow room last night before the public can pay their respects when the queen lies in state at the ancient Westminster Hall for four days.

Musk’s Twitter takeover

8. Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko told the US Congress that the platform ignored his security concerns, in testimony that came as company shareholders greenlit Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover deal.

Nearly 99% of the votes cast by stock owners endorsed the agreement with Musk to sell him the tech firm for $54.20 per share, Twitter said in a release.

Twitter added that it was ready to consummate the merger agreement immediately, and no later than 15 September as per a timeline mandated by the agreement.

The shareholder decision clears the way for the contract to close, even as billionaire Musk tries to exit it. Twitter has sued him to force it through.

Irish parks

9. The number of Green Flag awards issued for Ireland has hit a record-breaking number this year, with 104 parks and gardens receiving an award. 

The Green Flag Award for parks is the mark of a quality park or green space and is recognised throughout the world. It is only awarded for exceeding tough environmental standards in green space management and excellence of visitor attractions.

Of the 104 Green Flag sites Ireland has been awarded this year, 85 are formal public sites and 19 are volunteer run community sites.