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Early Edition
National Concert Hall, auto-enrolment pensions and children’s mental health waiting lists
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The National Concert Hall is embroiled in a row over a decision by one of its officials to cancel a booking for a fundraiser by the Irish branch of an Israeli ambulance charity, which it has reversed.
It’s been revealed that more than 6,600 employers have not yet signed up to pensions auto-enrolment scheme four months after registration opened.
Many swimming pools across Ireland are aging and many have closed altogether. There are around 100 swimming pools at risk of closing in the coming years which could leaving many communities without a public facility.
Talks between Iran and the US will take place in the coming days, according to the foreign minister of Pakistan.
A quarter of children on the waiting list for mental health services were waiting more than nine months to be seen at the end of 2025.
The PSNI is running a scheme known as “kid’s courts” which will offer drivers caught outside a school a choice between three penalty points and going in to face a panel of 11-year-olds.
Denise O’Connor writes about the best practices for managing a home renovation.
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Aughinish Alumina exports to Russia; and customers to be offered human interaction on bank calls
08:49|Taoiseach Michéal Martin has faced questions over exports from the Aughinish Alumina plant in county Limerick to aluminium smelters supplying the Russian military.The government will sign a new law requiring financial service providers to offer customers the right to speak to a human rather than an AI bot.A jury in the trial of a 77-year-old man on historic sex abuse charges will continue its deliberations today.Ireland will experience more warm weather this weekend, as the World Meteorological Organisation warns the El Niño weather phenomenon will intensify throughout the summer.Ryanair boss tells The Irish Times holidaymakers who booked early got better deals this summer than they did a year ago, despite rising fuel costs.Parnell Square attacker found guilty; EU presidency begins; and return to work mandates “narcissistic”
11:52|Riad Bouchaker, who’s 52, has been found guilty of attempted murder in relation to the stabbing in Parnell Square in November 2023. Our legal affairs correspondent Mary Carolan recounts the events which left a child with life altering injuries.After authorities in Sweden froze the assets of a company owned by Rusal, which owns the county Limerick plant Aughinish Alumina, what next for the firm linked with exports to the Russian military machine?Ireland’s presidency of the EU has begun. What does it entail, and why does it matter?The entrepreneur Margaret E. Ward writes that return to work mandates, effectively ending remote or hybrid working models, is led by narcissistic CEO’s.Metrolink agency; Spend like it's the 90s; Best new shows in July
09:58|The Government is seeking to fast-track legislation which will allow for the establishment of a State agency to deliver the planed Dublin metro project.The Ukrainian Government has rejected a donation from Ireland of a fleet of armoured combat vehicles to aid in the fight against Russia. The Defence Forces’ 27 light armoured tactical vehicles (LATVs) were first acquired 20 years ago but had a poor reputation and frequently broke down.While so many of us are going gaga for 90s culture, there are money lessons to be learned from that decade. Opting to have a “1990s summer” could amount to financial savings as well as nostalgia.Looking for a new show to binge watch in July? Kevin Courtney has a roundup of the best new shows streaming this month.Presented by Aideen FinneganAughinish Alumina; Unsafe vapes; World Cup hydration breaks
10:05|Aughinish Alumina will be forced to pay up front for the costs of closing down the Co Limerick plant and repairing environmental damage in the area, under a new deal agreed with the State.Europe is being “flooded” by cheap vapes and e-cigarettes produced in Asia that often do not meet EU safety rules, dodge customs taxes and in some cases contain harmful and illegal substances, the head of the EU’s anti-fraud office has said.With more than one million taxpayer “units” paying tax at the higher rate of 40 per cent on their incomes and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the pressure is on to deliver some form of relief in this October’s budget.Meanwhile our Government parties are still dreaming of income tax cuts in forthcoming budgets, most economists are predicting various shades of financial Armageddon, writes Eoin Drea.Fifa president Gianni Infantino says it doesn’t make any additional revenue from them. Stadium fans loudly boo them and TV viewers blast them on social media, but the hydration breaks introduced in this World Cup have been the bonus money spinner of the tournament, writes Bernice Harrison today.Presented by Aideen FinneganFuel excise cuts to be phased out; Russian signal jamming of planes; competitive socialising
09:37|Coalition leaders will consider plans to continue the reductions in excise on petrol and diesel, at least in part, beyond the July 31st deadline. However it is expected that the reductions introduced following the fuel protests in April will be tapered off over the coming months.The State is opting to retain out-of-date aircraft navigation systems as they are less susceptible to Russian jamming attacks compared to more modern technology, according to records obtained by The Irish Times.A marginal reduction in IT employment is probably one of the first manifestations of AI influencing the economy. John Fitzgerald writes that any future support measures need to be targeted at poorer households amid a gradual economic slowdown.From axe-throwing to augmented darts, Una Mullally is wondering what’s behind the rise in ‘competitive socialising’?Presented by Aideen FinneganIt's not a heatwave; Women of the revolution; Veronica Guerin; USA's 250th birthday
10:00|“As it stands right now, Ireland isn’t in heatwave conditions,” says Holly O’Neill, a meteorologist from Met Éireann, “although we recognise that it is unusually warm, of course”.Dublin City Council (DCC) is to commission a new monument honouring the women of Ireland’s revolutionary period, as part of a broader effort to address the historic underrepresentation of women in public spaces.Thirty years on from the murder of investigative crime journalist Veronica Guerin, her family say it is they, rather than her killers, who have suffered the true life sentences.It’s the USA’s 250th birthday tomorrow, Saturday 27th June. As the victor of the 20th century, it not only possessed unmatched political and economic power, but embodied admired values of constitutional government and freedom. This did not last.Presented by Aideen FinneganHarris meets finance influencers; the three day abortion wait; and the hottest day ever?
09:46|Minister for Finance Simon Harris brought a group of “finance influencers” who run popular Instagram accounts into the Department of Finance this week to brief them on the new State savings scheme.Government TDs are seeking extra scrutiny of legislation scrapping the three-day waiting period for abortion services due to fears of a backlash over it being “railroaded” through the Dáil.Ireland’s heatwave is set to peak today with temperatures on course to top 30 degrees.Many CAO applicants change their lists of courses at this time of year for various reasons. Most are valid, of course, but Andree Harpur cautions against “the most dangerous one”.Presented by Aideen FinneganHeatwave chaos in Europe; and the extradition of US millionaire Jason Cardiff
08:59|The heatwave has caused chaos in a number of European countries. At least 40 people have drowned in France after entering seas and rivers.The US millionaire Jason Cardiff is facing extradition to the US on allegations he defrauded customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through the sale of products marketed for sexual performance, weight loss, and smoking cessation. He denies the charges. Women’s Aid received 62,275 disclosures of abuse against women and children last year, according to newly released figures.How likely is Andy Burnham to become the UK’s next Prime Minister?Presented by Andrew McNair.Jeffrey Donaldson guilty verdict; new legislation on dog breeding; and heatwave weather warning
11:39|The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been told by a judge to expect a lengthy prison sentence after he was convicted of all 18 sex abuse counts, including the rape of a woman when she was in primary school.The UK will get a new Prime Minister following the announcement by Kier Starmer that he is to stand down. Our political editor Pat Leahy says he improved the relationship between the UK and Ireland.There is new legislation being proposed on dog breading to include a requirement that prospective buyers are shown a puppy’s biological mother on-site, and banning animals being handed over in car parks.Met Éirann has issues a yellow weather warning as a heatwave sweeps across Europe.