No 1 – The Taoiseach’s described as “a daft question” demands by Sinn Féin to know how many people will be taken off the dole next year by the Government’s jobs plan.
The coalition’s planning to create two-hundred-thousand net new jobs by twenty-twenty.
But the strategy’s been criticised in the Dáil by Gerry Adams who says it lacks new ideas and any new funding.
No 2 – Irish households are cutting back on food as they struggle to make ends meet.
CSO figures published today have shed light on how the economic downturn has been affecting household spending.
The Quarterly National Household Survey found that 80% of people have cut back their spending across a range of areas.
In addition to spending less on groceries and clothing, the study also found one fifth of households had either missed or delayed paying bills.
However the survey was carried out between April and June of last year , prior to further cutbacks in December’s budget.
No 3 – A man who claims he suffers from a condition called sexsomnia has been convicted of sexually assaulting his cousin.
The 26 year old climbed into his cousin’s bed and carried out the attack while staying over at her Dublin apartment following a family funeral in August 2009.
He claimed he must have been sleepwalking.
No 4 – Junior Minister Joe Costello says waste collection firm Greyhound must withdraw its ultimatum not to collect bins from almost 20 thousand Dublin homes.
The company – which took over the waste collection service from Dublin City Council in January – has warned that bins won’t be collected from Thursday onwards if residents don’t register with them and pay their annual fee.
No 5 – The funeral of singer Whitney Houston will be held on Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first revealed her singing talents as a child.
The owner of the local funeral home is reportedly saying the service will start at midday at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church.
The pop star was found dead in her hotel room in Beverly Hills last Saturday – and her body was returned to New Jersey late yesterday.
