Here's What Happened Today: Wednesday

NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

• Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae was assaulted today by a member of the public while driving his car through Dublin city. 
• Vulnerabilities found in an online database may have seen as many as 12,000 Irish passports sitting in the open and at risk of being picked up by hackers.
• MetroLink is to become operational between 2036 and 2038 and will cost the state up to €17.75 billion.
• A man was arrested on Tuesday following an incident involving Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
• The consumer protection watchdog warned that scammers are pretending to be Dublin Zoo online.
• The Central Bank said that it now takes four years on average to build a home in Ireland – twice as long as it did a decade ago.
• Gardaí arrested a man in his late teens following the seizure of a firearm in Lucan on Tuesday.
• Ireland is missing out on the economic benefits of Europe’s massive increase in defence spending because it does not have a significant defence industry, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne said.
• Meanwhile, Simon Harris said Ireland’s military non-alignment “won’t change”, but described closer European security cooperation as “a good thing” following proposals that would allow any EU country to trigger emergency talks over security threats.
• Here are the Irish artists standing by Macklemore and pulling out of Ed Sheeran’s US tour.
• Public transport fare increases are likely to decrease the number of passengers using trains and buses, the National Transport Authority confirmed. 
• A hosepipe ban that had been in place across 13 counties was lifted two weeks early due to the ‘extraordinary efforts’ of businesses and households to reduce water use.
• Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan rejected calls for an independent mediator to resolve the criminal legal aid dispute.
• There were angry blows between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín in the Dáil today over the government’s approach to a united Ireland. 
• The National Union of Journalists condemned plans by publisher Reach plc to slash hundreds of jobs, including positions at local news website GalwayBeo.
• A man who caused a family to “hide in an attic for almost five hours” due to his actions during the Ballymena riots last year was jailed.

INTERNATIONAL

#US: Donald Trump announced the Kennedy Center will close down immediately after a judge ruled his name cannot be added onto the famed arts institution’s exterior.

#ED SHEERAN: UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy said she has “enormous sympathy” for Ed Sheeran in the wake of his supporting acts dropping out of his US tour.

#SOCIAL MEDIA: New restrictions targeting access to social media for children under 15 are set to be introduced across Europe.

PARTING SHOT

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