Pension age decision
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said that he anticipates the Government will make a decision on the issue of the pension age by the end of March.
Because of the sensitivity of the issue, there was a process that had to be carried through when considering “this very important matter”, he said. The concern was that the cost of changing retirement age could arise sooner than anticipated.
Government plans to raise the State pension age have been dealt a blow, after an Oireachtas committee recommended keeping it at 66.
The Pensions Commission has recommended controversial plans to extend the retirement age incrementally to 68, but the Committee on Social Protection said it is not "reasonable" for people over the age of 66 to continue working.
Nphet appearance
A further 12,560 cases of Covid-19 have been logged in Ireland, along with 92 deaths over the past week.
Members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) appeared before an Oireachtas Health Committee meeting on Wednesday, warning that the level of Covid-19 infection in Ireland will remain high into the near future.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan delivered a positive outlook on the Covid-19 situation in the country, around 10 days after almost all restrictions were lifted.
However, he warned that the Omicron variant is “very unlikely” to be the last variant of concern globally and “the global public health risk remains very high”.
Ireland may also enter a “less frequent vaccination situation” in the future, he said, suggesting annual booster vaccines may be offered to vulnerable members of society only.
Separately on Wednesday, the Dáil heard that there are still “high numbers” of Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes, with 40 per cent of centres affected.
13-year-old a person of interest
A 13-year-old boy has been identified as a person of interest as gardaí in Co Cork continue to investigate a serious attack on a woman in her 20s who was followed for a period in the city before her assailant subjected her to a “particularly nasty” assault.
The violent incident occurred last Saturday evening in the Evergreen Street area at around 11.30pm when a male attacked the woman who was walking alone. She was hit in the head and face and sustained cuts and damage to her jaw.
The woman was transferred to Cork University Hospital via ambulance for treatment. She was left badly shaken by the incident. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
It comes as separately, a woman has been hospitalised after she was attacked in Dublin city centre yesterday afternoon.
Russian drills 'routine'
Plans by Russia to hold military exercises off the Irish coast were “absolutely routine”, Irish aviation officials have said.
The Oireachtas transport committee heard on Wednesday from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), after Russia agreed to move planned military drills off the south-west coast of Ireland.
The planned exercises caused considerable upset and controversy in Ireland, and sparked protests by Irish fishermen outside the Russian embassy in Dublin.
Appearing before the committee, IAA chief executive Peter Kearney told politicians the planned Russian activity, although the first of its kind in living memory, was “routine” but he understood concern given "what has been seen in Ukraine and Russia and the sensitivities around that."
Leaving Cert plans
The Minister for Education Norma Foley has defended Leaving Cert plans following criticism from students.
The Cabinet signed off on plans for written exams on Tuesday, with Ministers ruling out a hybrid approach and describing the traditional exam-only format as the “fairest” option.
Minister Foley said the exams will be “tailor-made” in recognition of the challenges students have faced in recent years. Junior Cert exams will also return this year for the first time since 2019, she confirmed.
The Children's Ombudsman, student groups and Opposition parties have all criticised the planned return to more traditional exams, calling for a hybrid model similar to that used over the past two years amid the pandemic.
