N7 crash
Gardaí are appealing for information after three men were killed in a road crash between a car and a lorry in Dublin on Wednesday night.
The fatal collision occurred on the N7 at Rathcoole at approximately 11.40pm when a car travelling on the wrong side of the road collided with a truck
The three occupants of the car received fatal injuries and postmortem examinations are due to be carried out on their bodies on Thursday afternoon.
An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) has been notified as gardaí are believed to have commenced a pursuit in the Tallaght area prior to the collision.
Race against Delta
The growth of the Delta variant of Covid-19 is likely to “outmatch” the supply of vaccines over the coming weeks, the chief executive of the HSE has said.
Paul Reid told a briefing on Thursday that the health service was facing into the challenge of the variant “from a high base”.
Mr Reid said he wished there was more time, and more supplies, to enable the health service to stay ahead of the increase in cases.
A further 534 Covid cases were confirmed in the Republic today, while an additional 627 cases were reported in the North – bringing the total on the island to more than 1,000 in a 24-hour period.
Indoor drinking and dining
The Cabinet will next week consider six reopening options for the return of indoor dining, according to the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI).
Publicans and other hospitality representatives held talks with Government officials over the past week regarding the reopening of pubs, restaurants and cafes indoors.
The VFI said that six reopening scenarios will be presented to Cabinet for a final decision next Tuesday, following a meeting held today.
Most of the discussions focused on devising a system that will allow only vaccinated people and those recovered from Covid-19 to dine indoors, the VFI added.
Irish language requirements
One fifth of new public sector recruits will be required to be proficient in Irish by December 31st, 2030 under changes to the Official Languages Bill.
The Government announced the move on Thursday, which will also introduce a requirement that 20 per cent of public advertising by public bodies be done through Irish, 5 per cent of which must appear in Irish-language based media.
Dublin Bay South byelection
Voting is underway in the Dublin Bay South byelection.
Polls opened at 7am and will close at 10.30pm, before the count begins on Friday.
It follows weeks of campaigning in the race to succeed ex-Fine Gael Minister Eoghan Murphy in the constituency.
Labour Senator Ivana Bacik has become the frontrunner for the vacant seat, and is now the bookies favourite at 2/5.
