Two storms due to hit Ireland
Met Éireann has issued a number of weather warnings as two storms are forecast to hit the island of Ireland this week.
The national forecaster warned the weather will turn “very unsettled” as two low pressure systems bring spells of very strong and damaging winds, with potential snow later in the week.
On Wednesday Storm Dudley will bring strong winds to northern and western parts of Ireland, while on Friday Storm Eunice is forecast to bring more widespread winds across the country, along with heavy rain and potential snow.
A status-orange wind warning has been issued for Donegal from 9pm on Wednesday to 9am on Thursday, when gusts could reach around 130 kilometres per hour along exposed coasts and high ground during Storm Dudley.
A yellow wind warning for Clare, Galway, Donegal and Mayo will run from midday on Wednesday for 24 hours, when gusts could reach 80 to 110 kilometres per hour at times and high tide and strong winds will lead to some coastal flooding.
Weather warnings are expected to be issued in the coming days for Friday, when a more widespread spell of windy and disruptive weather is expected as Storm Eunice moves across the island.
Amber and yellow weather warning are also in place for Northern Ireland from Wednesday to Friday, issued by the UK Met Office.
Part of mica redress scheme may be dropped
A controversial part of the the mica redress scheme agreed last year by the Government may be dropped.
Campaigners in Donegal had criticised the scheme for including a cap of €145 per square foot, available only for the first 1,000 square feet, with a sliding scale thereafter.
They had called on Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to scrap the sliding scale, which campaigners said would leave families impacted by the defective blocks scandal scrambling to make up the shortfall.
HSE whistleblower
A Department of Health whistleblower has cast doubt on €515m of additional funding given to the HSE during the first year of the pandemic, saying it is unclear if the money was ever needed.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the whistleblower, a Department of Health employee, has claimed there are gaping holes in the financial reporting in respect of hundreds of millions of euros poured into the health service.
They have documented an internal Department meeting in June of last year — to scrutinise the 2020 supplementary budget for the health service — describing it as “extraordinary” that the Department of Health was unsure if the additional €514.5m had been necessary.
The whistleblower alleges the Department had neither asked the HSE to account for what the €514.5m was needed for, nor whether the money had actually been used for that purpose.
Forum suggests moving Dublin Port for housing
Dublin needs to be bold and ambitious and move Dublin Port out of the city centre, to allow for housing, according to a business forum.
The Docklands Business Forum is calling for the 200 hectares of land at the mouth of the Liffey to be turned into apartments.
It is part of a submission to the city council's draft development plan.
CEO of the forum, Alan Robinson, said the city is dealing with a serious accommodation crisis.
Mr Robinson told Newstalk: "The has developed office space for 70,000 workers in the docklands but only living accommodation for 20,000. So 50,000 have to find accommodation elsewhere, most of these people are in the age bracket where they're starting to get on the property ladder, and the only places they can buy are Meath, Kildare, Louth and the surrounding counties."
Ukraine crisis
Hopes of a diplomatic path out of the Ukraine crisis have increased slightly after Russia’s Defence Ministry announced that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases.
After weeks of rising tensions over Ukraine, the tenor changed on Monday, when Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that Russia was ready to keep talking about the security grievances that have led to the crisis.
It was not immediately clear how many troops are returning to bases — and the news came a day after western officials said some forces and military hardware were moving toward the border, muddying the picture.
The glimmers of hope accompanied a flurry of diplomacy.
