Wind and rain warning
Met Éireann has issued status-yellow rain and wind warnings affecting five counties on Friday.
A wind warning for Donegal, Galway and Mayo will take effect at 3pm this afternoon and remain in force until midnight.
Gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour will be seen with strong south or southwest winds, the forecaster said.
Romance fraud
In the run-up to Valentine's Day on Monday, Gardaí are warning members of the public to be vigilant of romance fraud, the incidence of which increased by 86 per cent in 2021.
Illustrating the wide range of people targeted by these types of scams, Gardaí released case studies, one of which involved a 51-year-old woman who believed she was in an online relationship with a man. The victim transferred €90,000 as a business loan to the man, but now believes it was a case of fraud.
According to Garda figures, 70 per cent of romance fraud victims are women, with scammers generally attempting to get their victim to send money by a number of manipulative means.
Limerick collision
A 12-year-old boy has died following a road traffic collision between a car and a lorry in Co Limerick overnight.
Gardaí and emergency services were alerted to the collision on the N21 at Rineroe near Adare shortly before 2am on Friday morning.
The driver of the car and its only occupant, the young boy, was fatally injured and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Value of wages
The real value of wages or social welfare payments will continue to fall despite new Government measures to tackle the spiralling cost of living, according to Social Justice Ireland.
The think-tank said the cost of living crisis is an issue of adequate income.
“While the energy credit, changes to the working family payment, the fuel allowance, drugs payment scheme and changes to school and public transport charges are welcome, they fail to deal with the reality of the unavoidable trade‐offs people living on inadequate incomes have had to make for two years,” said director Dr Seán Healy.
Wicklow assault
Two people are in Garda custody this morning after the body of a man in his 30s was found inside a house in Co Wicklow.
Gardaí are now investigating all the circumstances surrounding the fatal assault of the man that occurred at the house in Ballyconnell, Shillelagh on Thursday evening.
Gardaí attended the scene of the incident at approximately 8.15pm, where the man was found dead inside the property with fatal injuries.
Home office
The cost of providing an office at home should be covered, Minister Eamon Ryan has said, adding he envisages a future where working from home will “become a normal thing.”
The Green party leader and Minister for Transport also called for reform of the school transport system, saying the current system was “not ideal” and there was a need to “reimagine” it.
30 per cent of rush hour traffic was children being driven to school, Mr Ryan told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show. If they used school buses that would address part of the traffic congestion problem, he said.
Russian troops
Russia is now massing yet more troops near Ukraine and an invasion could come at any time, perhaps before the end of this month's Winter Olympics, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.
Commercial satellite images published by a private US company showed new Russian military deployments at several locations near Ukraine.
In his starkest warning yet to Americans in Ukraine to get out now, President Joe Biden said he would not send troops to rescue US citizens in the event of a Russian assault.
