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

Ballyfermot Pride  

We start the day with our main story in which Lauren Boland takes a look at the dispute in Ballyfermot. 

Locals are set to hold a solidarity vigil this week after a church received backlash online for flying an LGBT+ Pride flag on its grounds.

The Ballyfermot Assumption Parish flew an Irish flag and a Pride flag outside its entrance last week as an effort to show that “all are welcome” in its church.

After sharing photos of the flags on social media, large numbers posted thanks or appreciation, but others sent critical or abusive messages to the church because they believed the Pride flag was “anti-Catholic”.

Delta Variant

Next up with take a look at a suspected Delta variant outbreak causing significant concern in the Athlone area and the HSE have launched a major investigation into its spread. 

The HSE said these cases are associated with socialising which occurred on the west side of the river on Friday 11 June. The HSE has asked anyone who was socialising in the area on that date to make contact. 

 Fur Farming 

In politics and environmental news we have a story about a memo on the prohibition of fur farming coming before cabinet today. It includes a compensation scheme for fur farmers also expected.

The commitment to prohibit the breeding of mink solely for their fur is in the programme for Government.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue will today seek cabinet approval to implement a prohibition on the practice, as well as to provide for a scheme of compensation for the small number of fur farms currently operating.

Antigen Testing 

There is an interesting take on the antigen test debate as Aer Lingus ask the government to adopt antigen testing for air passengers as part of a range of measures to encourage more people to fly over the coming months. 

The airline’s two most senior executives will tell an Oireachtas committee today that Ireland is ‘an outlier’ for not using antigen testing as a risk mitigation tool for passengers, and that it is ‘widely accepted’ as a pre-departure testing standard across the EU, the US and the UK. 

Travel 

Still on the subject of international travel we have a story that the Government is to launch a communications campaign ahead of the roll out of the EU Digital Green Cert on 19 July which will set out clearly that young people, who have not yet been vaccinated, will be free to travel abroad under the new system.

It comes amid criticism of the government on more mixed messaging when it comes to international travel. 

Green House

There is bad news on the environmental front here in Ireland as the EPA has declared the country will miss its EU targets to reduce green house gas emissions. 

The EPA, an independent public body responsible for environmental research and enforcing environmental law in Ireland, released its projections for Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2020 to 2040. 

It said Ireland is projected to have gone over its emissions limit for 2013-2020 by 12.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2 eq).

Washington DC

In news from the US a judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters.

The accusations refer to an incident in which they were forcefully removed from a Washington DC park before then-president Donald Trump walked to a church for a photo opportunity.

Halting Site

A High Court challenge has been brought against a decision by Waterford council’s elected members not to develop Traveller accommodation in the city.

Last March, the council voted by 16 votes to 2 not to go ahead and build a seven-bay halting site at Carrickphierish Road in Waterford.

Arising out of that decision, two members of the Irish Traveller Community Ellen Delaney and Mary O’Reilly, who are sisters in law, have brought judicial review proceedings against the Council.

Domestic Violence

Lastly we look at Women’s Aid’s horrifying statistic that calls to their support service increased by 43% last year compared to 2019.

Last year, 29,717 people contacted the domestic violence support service reporting high levels of emotional, physical, sexual and economic abuse, according to the group’s Annual Impact Report for 2020.

During these contacts, 24,893 disclosures of domestic abuse against women including coercive control were made.