The 9 at 9: Sunday

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.

House Fire

1. A number of people died in a house fire in Edenderry, Co Offaly last night. Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene at about 7.45pm yesterday evening.

The fire was extinguished by the local fire service, but it is believed that there were at least two fatalaties at the scene.

Opinion poll

2. Sinn Féin remains the most popular party in the country, with support slumping for Fine Gael, according to the latest opinion poll.

The Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll shows support for Sinn Féin at 24%, which is five percentage points above its general election result. Fine Gael sits at 17%, its lowest level of support since January 2016. Support for Fianna Fáil is at 20%.

Landlords

3. The Government has started sending begging letters to landlords who have commenced eviction proceedings, telling them new rental rules that come into effect in March will not affect them if they continue with their existing tenants.

In lengthy emails and letters from the Department of Housing – seen by The Journal – landlords are “encouraged to maintain all current tenancies” ahead of the March changes.

Industrial action

4. A cohort of employees have informed the outsourcing firm Covalen that they intend to carry out industrial action following a row over job classification. 

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Personnel working as legal compliance operations staff will carry out a full day of strike action next Wednesday, with a picket line in operation for the entire duration of the morning and evening shifts they carry out. The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) is representing workers in the dispute. 

Monitoring 

5. As Ukrainian president arrived in Ireland earlier this week, the Irish Naval Service off the coast of Dublin were watching a nearby cargo vessel which had previously been linked to cable damage in the Baltic Sea.

In January this year, the same ship was boarded by Swedish Special Forces over suspicions it was responsible for dragging an anchor across a telecommunications subsea cable. 

Shooting

6. A mass shooting carried out by multiple suspects in an unlicensed bar near the South African capital has left at least 12 people dead, including three children.

Another 14 people were injured and taken to hospital following the incident west of Pretoria, South African Police Services said. The children who were killed were aged three, 12 and 16. The ages of the others killed and injured are not yet known.

Disappearance 

7. Gardaí have re-issued an appeal for information on the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of Trevor Deely, who went missing from Dublin on 7 December 2000.

 Trevor was last sighted on CCTV passing the Bank of Ireland ATM on Haddington Road at 04.14am.

Anyone with information can contact Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 6669000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station. 

Goa fire

8. A fire that ripped through an Indian nightclub in the popular tourist resort region of Goa killed 25 people, the state’s chief minister said today.

Tourists were among the dead in the blaze, which broke out at about midnight at a club in Arpora in the north of the coastal state.

Weather 

9. It will be a dull start today, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle occasionally turning heavy across the country. But clouds will clear across Connacht and Munster by this afternoon, with sunny spells and scattered showers developing, according to Met Éireann.

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