Bank holiday Covid surge
Ireland logged almost 64,000 new cases of Covid-19 over the extended bank holiday weekend, as the positivity rate of PCR testing soared to 44.2 per cent.
Amid climbing hospitalisations, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) called on Monday for emergency measures to be introduced to allow hospitals to cope with chronic overcrowding and surging case numbers.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar on Sunday ruled out the return of Covid restrictions, saying the rise in cases is a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic”, as he acknowledged Ireland is in the midst of a second wave of the Omicron variant.
A public health expert meanwhile warned the country will need to continue to use “reasonable precautions” like face masks to tackle the virus for the foreseeable future.
Barrister charged with murder
A High Court judge has delivered a decision on a bail application from a barrister who has been accused of murder, with the application refused as the judge said the accused was a flight risk with the “means to evade justice”.
A doctor has separately told the trial of four men accused of raping a teenage girl “one after another” that findings from a medical examination of the girl were consistent with the possibility of non-consensual intercourse.
A Lativan man who beat his then-partner, causing her to immediately report the assault to at local Garda station, has meanwhile been jailed for three years.
Arrests over Dublin shootings
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Sandra Boyd at her family home in Finglas, Co Dublin.
The man, aged in his 20s, was arrested on Monday morning. He is currently being detained at Finglas Garda Station under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
Ms Boyd (36), a mother of five, sustained at least one gunshot wound to her upper body on Saturday night. She was rushed to the Mater Hospital, however she later died from her injuries.
Separately, gardaí have arrested a woman in her early 30s in relation to the fatal shooting of father-of-three Michael Tormey outside his home in west Dublin in January.
Ireland pushes for Russian sanctions
The European Union is “lining up” conversations about further sanctions against Russia later this week, according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, who said EU money spent on energy is helping to fund Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Minister Eamon Ryan also earlier said Ireland would push for stronger sanctions “to put an end to the Putin regime”.
It comes as the Government is to start the process of moving Ukrainian refugees in with Irish families, while Minister for Further Education Simon Harris said student accommodation will also be made available for refugees.
St Patrick's parade criticism
Entries which appeared in St Patrick’s Day parades depicting a Carlow pensioner whose body was brought to a post office in an alleged attempt to claim his pension have been slammed as “disrespectful”.
Close friends and the parish priest within the Carlow community where pensioner Peadar Doyle lived have criticised the entries representing his death at the Belmullet Festival parade in Co Mayo and also at a parade in Kilfenora in Co Clare.
Rory Healy of R Healy and Son Funeral Directors, who managed Mr Doyle’s funeral and was also a good friend, said he was “horrified” to learn of the St Patrick’s Day parade entries.
Man dies in tent
An investigation has been launched after a man died in his tent in Dublin city centre on Monday morning.
The man was found in his tent which was located at Loftus Lane, between Bolton Street and Parnell Street.
Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene at around 3am. The man received medical treatment but was later pronounced dead.
