Climate warning
Ireland must prepare immediately for disruptive impacts of climate change such as extreme heat, the Climate Change Advisory Council has warned, as a heatwave continues to bring record temperatures and wildfires to Europe.
The council said Ireland is not prepared for today’s climate nor the climate of the future.
The warnings come as Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue are due to meet to discuss climate targets for the agriculture sector.
Facebook apologises to Quoirin family
The parents of Nóra Quoirin, a French-Irish schoolgirl from London whose body was found near a Malaysian jungle resort during a family holiday, have settled a case against Facebook.
Lawyers for the social media giant, trading as Meta, read out an agreed statement in the High Court in Dublin on Wednesday.
Sebastien and Maebh Quoirin, who were in court, had initiated proceedings against Facebook and retired solicitor Anne Brennan over posts made on Facebook in 2019 and 2020.
Both proceedings were settled and Facebook has expressed its sympathies to the Quoirin family.
Taoiseach in Japan
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is continuing his four-day trip to Japan and Singapore, stressing that he wishes to deepen cultural and economic ties with the two countries.
Mr Martin met with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday, conveying his sympathy on the recent death of Japan's former prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
The Fianna Fáil leader valued Irish-Japanese trade at almost €20 billion, adding there are "a great many areas in which Ireland and Japan can work closely together to mutual benefit, as two countries committed to free and open markets".
Construction concerns
Almost two thirds of construction companies are struggling to recruit skilled workers, impacting the country's ability to meet current building demand.
A report from Autodesk Construction Cloud found a shortage of skilled labourers was one of the main issues affecting the construction sector, in addition to the rising cost of materials and sheer scale of demand.
Of those, two fifths of the companies said they were actively recruiting, with the skills shortage impacting businesses of all sizes.
