LAST UPDATE | 23 Feb
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. The Chair of RTÉ’s Board has resigned, after the Media Minister Catherine Martin failed to express confidence in her.
Throughout her time in the post, she has dealt with the fallout of the Ryan Tubridy payment scandal, and further controversy about exit payments in more recent weeks.
2. Dozens of booksellers have written to the Minister for Education and other government figures in recent years – in some cases warning that the free schoolbooks scheme would have a devastating impact on their businesses, and in others detailing significant cuts they had already made to cope with the changes.
Due to the procurement process, many smaller bookshops have been adversely affected, leaving them questioning whether they can stay afloat in an industry transformed. That’s because schools are required to get quotes from three different retailers, and must choose the cheapest.
3. Average rent increases in Ireland fell significantly in 2023, for the first time in two years, as a result of increased supply in Dublin.
While rent prices are not dropping in any region of the country, price inflation rates are beginning to fall as a result of a surge in apartments being put on the open rental market in Dublin.
4. The Department of Finance will this morning be licking its wounds after Dublin lost its bid to be home to the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
Experts say however, that the decision was not entirely unsurprising given serious concerns that exist about Ireland’s record on corporate transparency.
Transparency advocates have said that Ireland needs to quickly update rules that essentially shut down access to information on company ownership if it wants to be taken seriously when it comes to corporate accountability.
5. At least four people have died in a vast fire that ripped through a 14-storey apartment block in Valencia in eastern Spain, but officials warned Friday that the death toll could rise sharply.
Nineteen people are still missing, a city hall source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
6. A young Irish man has died in an accidental drowning in Indonesia.
26-year-old Val Brooks from Ballindaggin, Co Wexford had recently emigrated to Australia.
7. A lunar lander built by a US spaceflight company has become the first privately owned spacecraft to land on the Moon.
Intuitive Machines’s Nova-C Odysseus lander touched down on the Moon’s south pole region at 23.23pm Irish time last night.
The moment also marked the first US Moon landing since the final mission of the Apollo programme, Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago.
8. Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a federal court to dismiss charges that he illegally removed classified documents from the White House upon leaving office, arguing he is protected by presidential immunity.
This case involving Trump taking documents with him to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and thwarting investigators’ attempts to recover them is one of four criminal indictments Trump faces as he runs for a second presidential term.
Seizure and arrests
9. Gardaí have seized drugs with an estimated value of €2 million and arrested three men, after two vehicles were intercepted and one house was searched in Blanchardstown tonight.
The planned searches were part of an operation targeting Hutch gang operations in Dublin city.
It is understood that a senior associate of the Hutch gang is amongst those to have been arrested.
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