EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you begin your day.
1. #WATER CHARGES: Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said the introduction of domestic water charges will not take place in January as expected, because charges will not be introduced before meters have been installed. Just four days ago, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan told reporters the charges would come into effect from 1 January 2014.
2. #SAVITA: The full inquest into the death of 31-year-old dentist Savita Halappanavar in Galway last year is to begin today. At least 16 staff of University Hospital Galway are to give evidence, along with widower Praveen Halappanavar. Savita was 17 weeks pregnant when she died at the hospital from suspected blood poisoning.
3. #KUNG FU FIGHTING: Nineteen ushers working as security guards in Leinster House have been given classes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to defend themselves – and politicians – from aggressive members of the public, TheJournal.ie has learned. The training follows an incident in 2011 where a visitor to Leinster House made it to the staircase at the entrance to the Dáil chamber before being intercepted by the ushers on duty. The Houses of the Oireachtas paid €2,160 for the training.
4. #ASBESTOS: MEPS are calling on the European Union to protect workers and citizens in member states from the effects of asbestos. Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Irish MEP and a member of the responsible committee, Emer Costello, said this is a “huge issue” and that many people “would not be aware that there are so many public buildings that have asbestos”. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people a year suffer from asbestos related diseases with as many as 120,000 dying every year as a result of one of these illnesses.
5. #AUSTERITY: The European Commission has warned Portugal it must stick to the targets agreed under its bailout plan or risk the curtailment of future international aid. Last Friday, Portugal’s Constitutional Court rejected four out of nine austerity measures included in the country’s budget, prompting emergency cabinet meetings over the weekend.
6. #NORTH KOREA: International observers fear North Korea may be planning a new nuclear test, after movement was noted around an atomic test site in the country. South Korea has said it believes that Pyongyang could launch a missile test this week. The Japanese navy has been instructed to shoot down any rockets it sees coming from North Korea.
7. #PLANNING: Eleven counties have recorded an increase in the number of planning applications during January and February this year compared with the same period of 2012, according to the National Housing Construction Index. Roscommon, Leitrim and Monaghan saw the greatest jump in applications lodged, while Dublin also noted a rise of 15 per cent. In the capital, there were 377 applications made, up 50 from the same period last year.
8. #AFGHANISTAN: The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the deaths of 11 children in a Nato airstrike in Kunar province over the weekend, saying he “denounced any kind of operations that cause civilian deaths”. Karzai also directed condemned the Taliban, which he said used “civilians as shields”, Al Jazeera reports.
9. #FACEBOOK: The social networking site is to introduce a trial system of charging users for sending private messages to celebrities or people outside their circle of friends – with a sliding scale of fees based on the recipient’s followers. Under the new system, Irish users may be charged up to €10 for such messages, the Telegraph reports.
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