Housing legislation
The Minister for Housing said he will bring in additional legislation to target short-term lettings in the coming weeks.
Darragh O’Brien said the legislation will further restrict the short-term letting of houses and apartments.
Mr O’Brien said the amended law will go further that issuing on-the-spot fines, describing the move as “significant”.
Kerry assault
Gardaí investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man, aged in his 50s, in Tralee, Co Kerry have made a second arrest.
As a result of investigations, a man in his early 30s has been arrested and is currently detained at Killarney Garda station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
The man arrested last night, aged in his 50s, remains in Garda custody.
The body of was found on Sunday night.
New Covid variant
Two cases of a newly classified Covid-19 variant of concern have been confirmed in Ireland.
On May 12th, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reclassified two sub-lineages of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, BA.4 and BA.5, from variants of interest to variants of concern.
In chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan’s latest weekly report on Covid-19 to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, he says two cases of BA.4 have been identified as of the week beginning May 7th.
Merck expansion
Pharmaceutical company Merck has announced plans to invest €440 million in its Co Cork operations, which it says will lead to the creation of 370 new jobs.
The German company is expanding its membrane and filtration manufacturing capabilities in Ireland.
The company will invest approximately €440 million to increase membrane manufacturing capacity in Carrigtwohill and to build a new manufacturing facility at Blarney Business Park.
Hospital strikes
Thousands more hospital outpatient appointments are set to be cancelled next week after the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA) confirmed its intention to strike again over pay and conditions.
The action will see the withdrawal of routine laboratory services, such as the analysing of blood and urine samples, scans and other tests, from 8am to 8pm on Tuesday, May 24th, and Wednesday, May 25th.
Strike action by the sector last Wednesday had a “significant impact” on healthcare services, the HSE said.
Monkeypox team
Public health specialist Dr Derval Igoe of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has said that a management team has been set up to prepare for the “eventuality” of monkeypox arriving in Ireland.
“It is always better to be prepared," she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
A number of professional groups will be involved in the management team including infectious diseases, sexual health, the National Immunisation Office and the National Virus Reference Laboratory, she added.
