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Westmeath bus crash
On Wednesday evening, a single vehicle collision took place in the townland of Killogeenaghan, Moate in county Westmeath. The incident involved a bus with around 20 passengers on board, some of which are being treated for non life-threatening injuries in Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore. The driver of the bus, aged 55, sustained fatal injuries and was later pronounced dead. Gardaí have appealed for witnesses or any road users with dashcam footage to come forward.
‘Chronic shortage’ of consultants in Irish health system
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) says the core issue with the health system is the “lack of physical capacity in terms of beds” and the “chronic shortage” in the number of consultants available. This follows Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly’s comments that overcrowding in hospitals could get worse, and that the HSE is to call on senior medical staff to come in at weekends for the next few weeks to help alleviate the situation. Professor Matthew Sadlier of the IMO Consultant Committee said health services are in “an endless cycle of crisis due to insufficient capital investment and inability to retain or recruit medical staff”.
Galway City Councillor Owen Hanley resigns seat
Galway City Social Democrats Councillor Owen Hanley has resigned from his council seat over allegations about the use of a fake social media account. On Facebook, he made a post saying he intended to resign his seat while the allegations are “investigated fully by the appropriate authorities”. The allegations relate to an anonymous account on Twitter, and were made by a former member of the party.
Pope Francis presides over funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI
The funeral for former Pope Benedict XVI takes place this morning at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, with Pope Francis paying tribute to his predecessor. Benedict was the first pontiff to resign from the position in almost 600 years, so the funeral marks the first occasion in modern times that a pontiff had presided over the funeral of his predecessor. Benedict died aged 95 on December 31 at a monastery in Vatican City.
Investigations into incident involving a ‘bag of sh*t’ thrown at junior minister
Anne Rabbitte, the Minister of State for Disability, claims that she and Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon had a ‘bag of sh*t’ thrown at them when leaving a meeting in county Galway yesterday. A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána stated that Gardaí are “investigating all the circumstances relating to an incident that occurred at a public meeting in Gort, Co. Galway, yesterday evening.”