Donnelly apologises for rental 'oversight'
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said he is not considering his position after it emerged that he failed to register a rental property with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) since 2019.
On Wednesday, Mr Donnelly admitted that the property had not been registered on time, as is required by law. The Minister only registered the property last week following the controversy surrounding Longford-Westmeath TD Robert Troy and his rental properties.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Donnelly said an "oversight" led to his failure to register the property with the RTB.
Tralee house fire arrests
Two further people have been arrested in relation to a house fire in Tralee, Co Kerry more than 10 years ago in which a man and his daughter (5) died.
The fire occurred at their home at Kileen Heights on May 12th, 2012, with Anthony O’Brien (30) and his daughter Nadine both found in an upstairs room.
The child’s mother, Kelly O’Brien escaped by jumping from an upstairs window.
A criminal investigation was launched by gardaí after the fire and back in June, a man (30s) was arrested in relation to the incident but was released without charge.
The two men, both aged in their 40s, were arrested on Thursday morning and are currently being held at Tralee and Killarney Garda stations.
Taxi fares
Taxis must accept card payments from today, with the move coinciding with a 12 per cent increase in fares.
The price increase will see the initial charge for a journey go from €3.80 to €4.20.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) approved the decision to introduce a card payments mandate and a price increase in May, both taking effect on September 1st.
The NTA said the 2022 Maximum Fare increase is a weighted average of 12 per cent to reflect the increase in operating costs faced by taxi drivers, together with the introduction of the cashless payment facility mandate.
Covid boosters
People aged 12-49 with long-term health conditions and healthcare workers are being invited to make an appointment for their second Covid-19 booster vaccine.
Those who are aged over 50 and people who are more than 16 weeks pregnant are also invited to book their next booster at a HSE vaccination centre or from participating GPs and pharmacies.
Children aged 5-11 who are immunocompromised will soon be invited to get their first booster, following the completion of their primary vaccine course.
