Mother charged with children’s murder
A 43-year-old woman has appeared in court, charged with the murder of her three children.
Dublin District Court was told Deirdre Morley, of Parsons Court, Newcastle in Co Dublin, made no reply when charged this afternoon.
Wearing a blue cardigan, navy top and jeans, Deirdre Morley didn’t speak during the brief hearing at Dublin District Court.
The 43-year-old is charged with the murder of her three children - 9-year-old Conor, 7-year-old Darragh and their 3-year-old sister Carla McGinley - at the same address last Friday.
Part of NCT test suspended over safety concerns
Drivers are facing the prospect of having to attend their NCT twice after part of the test was suspended due to safety concerns.
The National Car Testing Service (NCTS) has suspended the use of vehicle lifts at testing centres ahead of a full safety audit.
The service has been carrying out inspections in recent days after "signs of cracking" were found in almost 50 lifts in the North. The discovery led to the suspension of Northern Ireland's MOT test - with thousands of drivers affected.
The same company supplied the lifts to the NCTS and initial investigations uncovered cracks in at least one lift here.
Homeless figures drop below 10,000
The number of homeless people in Ireland has fallen below 10,000 for the first time in nearly a year.
The latest Government figures show one of the largest monthly drops in people accessing emergency accommodation since records began.
The Department of Housing said there were 9,731 people accessing homeless services in December – a drop of 717 people on the previous month.
While there is traditionally a decrease in homelessness in December, this year’s drop was far more significant than the decrease recorded this time last year.
Irish people warned against non-essential travel to China
Irish citizens are being advised to avoid non-essential travel to China.
The update in travel advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs comes as the death toll from the coronavirus there has risen to 132.
The total number of confirmed cases has reached just shy of 6,000.
This makes it more widespread on the mainland than the notable SARS outbreak of 2002 and 2003.
Heated exchanges as European Parliament ratifies Brexit withdrawal deal
Mairead McGuinness and Nigel Farage have had a lively exchange in the European Parliament ahead of a vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
MEPs spent this afternoon debating the bill, ahead of the agreement being ratified in a vote this evening.
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage addressed the Parliament in what will be one of his final contributions before the UK's exit from the bloc on Friday night.
He argued: "I became an outright opponent of the entire European Project - I want Brexit to start a debate across the rest of Europe.
