British prime minister
Liz Truss has become British prime minister after a meeting with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in which she was invited to form a government.
Earlier outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson gave his last speech outside Downing Street, pledging his "fervent support" to Ms Truss.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin congratulated Mr Truss on her new role, adding he is "committed to a strong and deep relationship" between Ireland and the UK, "and to working in an open and constructive way" with the new PM.
Rental woes
A third of renters are spending 50 per cent or more of their net income on rent, according to a survey carried out by housing charity Threshold.
The survey found 60 per cent of renters had their rent increased in the last year, and almost half (47 per cent) said a landlord had withheld their security deposit unfairly – up 20 per cent compared to last year.
Just under three quarters said it is common to have problems with mould or damp in their rental homes, up 57 per cent on last year, while 27 per cent said they had experienced an unfair eviction, up from 10 per cent last year.
Winter energy fears
The Climate Change Advisory Council is calling on the Government to take "swift and decisive" action to support households and communities manage rising energy costs facing into "one of the most challenging winters in a generation".
Publishing its annual review for 2022, the group said Ireland's dependence on fossil fuels is a "root cause" of high energy costs, in addition to the current supply instability due to the war in Ukraine.
The council said the transition to "more affordable, clean and secure energy must be urgently progressed", while the Government must "focus on measures that can be immediately deployed to assist those most in need in the coming months and in the years ahead".
Department investigate increase in bacteria cases
The Department of Public Health is investigating the circumstances behind a “noticeable increase” in cases of a potentially-deadly bacteria, Verotoxigenic E Coli (VTEC), in the Mid-West region.
According to provisional data published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) for 2022, there were more than 20 VTEC cases notified in the region between July 31st and August 27th, “including a number of hospitalisations”, a spokesman for Public Health Mid-West said.
In addition to causing severe stomach pains and diarrhoea, VTEC can cause a serious condition known as Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), which results in the breakdown of red blood cells and kidney failure.
