EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #CROKE PARK: Government negotiators want civil servants paid more than €60,000 a year to take a salary cut as part of the new Croke Park agreement, reports the Irish Independent. Unions are not happy with the arrangement as they want the threshold to be higher. Talks continue today ahead of the 28 February deadline.
2. #SOUTH AFRICA: Oscar Pistorius should find out today if he will be granted bail ahead of his murder trial. Meanwhile, it has been a disastrous 24 hours for the prosecution with its case unravelling in court yesterday and today’s revelation that the lead detective Hilton Botha has had seven attempted murder charges from 2011 reinstated against him.
3. #FAKE: The largest haul of counterfeit Euro notes has been seized in Portugal. Police said they arrested a 46-year-old foreign man after finding more than €380,000-worth of “exceptional quality” fake notes, reports BBC News.
4. #JUSTICE: Former residents of Dublin’s Bethany Home are hoping to be included in a redress scheme. Speaking to Morning Ireland, the survivors’ group secretary Niall Meehan said there are about 20 people who need to be vindicated. More than 200 children were buried in unmarked graves before the home closed in 1972.
5. #JOBSWATCH: A digital advertising agency is to create 100 new jobs in Dublin. Quantcast said it chose the capital as it offers the “rare mix of a vibrant local technology business scene, an exceptional talent pool and easy accessibility to Europe’s major markets”.
6. #DISCIPLINED: Twelve PSNI officers in Northern Ireland have been disciplined for failing to discover the body of a 22-year-old man in the grounds of a hospital for 10 weeks in 2010. The Police Ombudsman said the investigation was marred by a “a catalogue of mistake after mistake”.
7. #ROY COLLINS Two men, already serving time in Irish prisons for separate crimes, are to face murder charges in relation to the death of businessman Roy Collins, says the Irish Examiner. The accused have links to the infamous McCarthy-Dundon gang in the southwest.
8. #EDUCATION: One of the oldest private schools in Ireland is to stop charging fees from September, it revealed yesterday. Kilkenny College said the decision to end tuition payments for day pupils came after “lengthy talks” with the Department of Education.
9. #THE BRITS: Well, the last 12 months really belonged to Scottish singer Emeli Sandé (was there a TV show or event she didn’t sing at?) and the BRIT awards confirmed her ubiquitousness last night, handing her the Best Album and British Female gongs. Also on the winners list were One Direction (surprise!) and Adele (shocker!).
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