Consumer spending
Debit and credit card spending slumped by 8 per cent in September compared to the previous month, indicating consumers may be cutting back on spending as the cost-of-living crisis begins to bite.
The figures from Bank of Ireland show social spending saw a considerable decline, down 16 per cent on August, as the amount of money spent in pubs, restaurants and fast food outlets each took a hit in the region of 18-28 per cent.
As children returned to school and the summer holidays were put to bed, spending on hotels and resorts also fell by 26 per cent.
Suu Kyi term
A court in Myanmar has sentenced the country’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three more years’ imprisonment after finding her guilty of involvement in election fraud.
The 77-year-old was detained on February 1st, 2021, when the military seized power from her elected government.
She has denied the allegations against her in this case, in which she was accused of receiving $550,000 as a bribe from a tycoon convicted of drug trafficking.
Government u-turn
The Government will reverse the controversial decision to relocate more than 135 Ukrainian women and children from a Killarney hotel to Westport, Co Mayo.
As the Irish Examiner reports, efforts will now be made to source alternative accommodation for the 134 or so families who were due to be bussed to Westport on Wednesday morning.
The reversal comes after Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman and his officials were criticised for the “inhumane” treatment of the refugees.
Creeslough funerals
President Michael D Higgins is attending the latest funeral for a victim of the Creeslough service station explosion.
The funeral service for James O’Flaherty (48) is taking place at St Mary’s Church in Derrybeg, Co Donegal.
Mr O’Flaherty was originally from Sydney in Australia but had been living in Dunfanaghy, just miles from Creeslough, with his wife and son.
Irish team chant
The Republic of Ireland team have apologised following reports of players singing a pro-IRA chant in the dressing room following their 1-0 win over Scotland on Tuesday night.
The win secured Vera Pauw's squad qualification for next year's World Cup, marking their first ever major tournament.
Footage circulating on social media shows players in the dressing room after the game, celebrating to Ireland's Italia '90 song, Put 'Em Under Pressure. During the song's instrumental, the players can be heard chanting 'Up the RA'.
Mortgage rates
Mortgage rates in Ireland steadied at 2.64 per cent in August, rising by just 0.01 per cent since July, according to newly released figures.
Average Irish rates are touching record lows, with the new figures showing Ireland outside the top five most expensive Eurozone countries for the first in five years.
Ireland's rate remains higher than the Eurozone average, however, which currently stands at 2.21 per cent. This is the highest average rate since August 2017, and double the average rate this time last year.
The average Irish rate for fixed-rate mortgages was 2.49 per cent and 3.77 per cent for a variable rate.
Covid surge
The health service is committed to expanding models of care in the community to cope with the possibility of a 'twindemic' this winter, HSE chief Dr Colm Henry has said.
Concern has been raised of the system's ability to cope with the annual flu season, in addition to a spike in Covid-19 infections rates, with Dr Henry adding that a winter Covid surge was "possible but not inevitable".
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Dr Henry said the pandemic had seen unprecedented expansion of the health care system.
Capacity remained an issue, he said, which was why they needed to diversify to other forms of care in the community.
