Author: Denis Carr

Close to 6,000 Ukrainian pupils are now enrolled in Irish schools, with more than two thirds taking their places in primary schools, as refugees from the war-torn country settle into Irish life.

The Department of Education said that as of the end of last week, some 5,843 Ukrainian pupils are in schools across the country, with 3,968 in primary schools and 1,875 pupils in post-primary.

Specialist teams have been set up across the country’s education and training boards to assist in the transition, the department has said.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40873169.html

The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, TD., has announced that the extra Fuel Allowance Payment will be paid this week, commencing 16th May.
In all, over 371,000 households will benefit from the €100 payment. This is equivalent to over 3 weeks Fuel Allowance for these households.

The Government approved the additional lump sum payment of €100 to be paid to all households who were in receipt of the Fuel Allowance from the Department of Social Protection in the last week of the Fuel Allowance season which was the week commencing 4th April 2022.

The total cost of the extra payment amounts to €37.1 million, which is paid out of the Exchequer.

SEE FULL DETAILS: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/b7d7a-extra-fuel-allowance-payment-of-100-will-be-made-this-week-minister-humphreys

Addressing the crowd today, the Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was no more “devastating or traumatic event” in Irish history.
“It is impossible for us to imagine the feelings of hopelessness, anger and loss experienced by those who suffered through the Famine years.”
“Famines do not happen in democracies. In fact, there is no recorded account of a famine in a country where the government is freely elected and there was free speech.
“I think if you want to know why Ireland didn’t have another famine you will find it in our commitment to self-determination and building a democratic state,” said Mr Martin.

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0515/1298105-famine-commemoration-roscommon

Constantly checking out the property sections, Niamh O’Donoghue happened to come across an advert for a seemingly perfect house in Murrisk, near Westport in Mayo. With plenty of space, along with a spare bedroom and not one but three bathrooms, they viewed the property online. Having discovered that the wifi speeds were good enough to work from home, the pair packed up their belongings and moved out west.

The contrast couldn’t have been greater from Niamh’s pervious life in the city – and she is loving every minute of it.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/escape-to-the-west-everything-we-had-in-dublin-we-have-here-1.4870422

The HSE confirmed on Thursday that a child being treated for acute hepatitis in the hospital has died.
The tragic death occurred amid a spike in cases linked to an unexplained strain of the virus being reported across the globe.
Meanwhile, a second child – who is also being treated for the virus – has received a liver transplant in the UK.

According to health officials, there have been at least 169 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children reported up to April.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/health-news/seven-early-signs-hepatitis-irish-26951227

The force lay in the symbolism. The parliament buildings at Stormont stood as the citadel of Protestant unionism. This month’s elections have left Sinn Féin holding sway in Northern Ireland’s assembly. The discomfort reaches well beyond unionism. The rise of the party that served as the political voice of the IRA also challenges the old order in the south.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.ft.com/content/a54f2bcc-bab4-487c-b0c5-4207041be86c

Earlier this week there were just 42 rooms available in the centre of Dublin for three nights over the June bank holiday weekend on the popular hotel reservation platform booking.com. While the lack of availability was striking the lack of affordability was even more so.

Only one of the 42 rooms on offer was coming in at less than €150 a night, while there were two available for between €150 and €200 with the remaining 39 rooms on the table for €200 or more per night.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/ireland/conor-pope-irish-hotels-have-bounced-back-their-prices-have-bounced-even-higher-1.4877361

Ryanair and Aer Lingus passengers jetting off to Spain will likely have to wear face masks
while flying for the foreseeable future, despite recent changes made to mask wearing policies by the EU.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) previously announced that they would no longer recommend mandatory face coverings on board flights from May 16 onwards.

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus will follow this advice where possible.

However, a number of EU countries, including Spain, will continue to require masks for air
travel.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishmirror.ie/lifestyle/travel/spain-holidays-mask-rules-irish-26958077

Met Éireann forecasters say with temperatures peaking at between 16 and 19 degrees, Saturday will also see cloud and mist clearing in the afternoon to make way for similar conditions.

Sunday is likely to take the prize though, with “long spells of warm sunshine”, just a hint of rain in the west, and temperatures reaching between 17 and 20 degrees, if a little cooler around the coasts.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/beach-goers-rejoice-as-temperatures-set-to-hit-20-degrees-this-weekend-1.4877359

Speaking at the Dublin Climate Summit in UCD, the Taoiseach expressed concerns about the pace of climate action and a slowness from some sectors to accept the magnitude of the climate crisis.

The recent debacle over limiting the sale of turf, which was raised as a climate policy, raised fears about “do people really get a sense of how serious this is?”.

“For a lot of people, still, it’s intangible. It’s down in 50 years’ time, and then you get the whataboutery, ‘sure we’re just a small country’ – but we all have to make a contribution.”

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/it-s-going-to-be-very-challenging-martin-tells-dublin-climate-summit-1.4877027