Vaccines for under-18s
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) has recommended that the Covid-19 vaccine rollout be extended to children aged between 12 and 15.
The consent of a guardian will be required for a child to receive the shot, with appointments hoped to start "as soon as possible".
It comes as Ireland's vaccine registration portal opened today for teenagers aged 16 and 17.
The first walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centres in the country are to open this weekend to encourage uptake among younger people, the Taoiseach has confirmed.
Wedding guests
The Government has said that from August 5th, 100 people will be able to attend both wedding ceremonies and receptions.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that the Cabinet this afternoon agreed in principle to the relaxation of restrictions on weddings as weddings need "special treatment".
Earlier today, a group of brides staged a protest in Dublin city centre calling on the government to expand the number of guests at weddings to 100.
Doubling the number of guests allowed to attend a wedding was a major item on the agenda of today's Cabinet meeting.
10 hours at sea
The Irish Coastguard has reiterated an appeal to people not to take inflatable toys into open water after a man was rescued following 10 hours in the water off Co Louth.
The Irish Coastguard’s head of operations, Gerard O’Flynn, said inflatable toys are “back garden toys” and said “that’s as far as they should go.”
The rescued man, who is in his late 40s, had gone out on the water at Whitestown Beach, Dundalk at around midday in a “small inflatable dinghy of some description.”
It comes as a Minister of State in the Department of Transport has issued a water safety appeal to the public in the lead up to the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Personal injuries awards
The number of personal injury claims has fallen by 16 per cent in 2020 compared to the previous year, with over €206 million paid out in compensation last year.
The annual report from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) shows 26,009 new personal injury claims were made in 2020, representing a 22 per cent decrease in the last two years.
Awards also fell by €70 million on 2019 figures, while a €92 million decrease was noted since 2018.
Team Ireland update
Two Olympic debutants for Team Ireland got off to a flying start in the Men's 49er Skiff event. Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove took first place in the opening race, seeing off the pairings of Team GB and Germany.
Meanwhile, Mona McSharry claimed an eighth place finish in Tokyo in the Women's 100m Breaststroke final after becoming to first Irish swimmer in 25 years to take a spot in an Olympic final event.
Elsewhere, the Irish Rugby Sevens team got the win they needed over Kenya, however, the winning margin was not enough to see them through to the quarter-final stages.
Carolyn Hayes put in a mammoth performance to finish 23rd in the Women's Individual Triathlon after the race was delayed due to challenging weather conditions.
There was meanwhile joy in the ring, with Men's Welterweight Aidan Walsh bagging a win for Team Ireland against Albert Mengue Ayissi of Cameroon.
