Your top stories on Monday: Housing ‘the top issue with voters’; the fluent Irish speaker who can’t find a place in a second-level Gaelscoil

Housing the top issue with voters asked what they noticed about the Government’s work

Housing has returned to the top of the list of issues on which voters are noticing the Government’s performance once again this month.

The April Ipsos Snapshot for The Irish Times shows that after a period in which housing was supplanted first by immigration and then by last month’s referendums, housing is once again the issue most often mentioned by voters when asked what they have noticed about what the Government is doing.

News

• Age checks for social media aimed at protecting primary schoolchildren are ‘broken’: Social media platforms must introduce “robust” age verification systems to protect primary schoolchildren from inappropriate content such as sexually explicit images and self-harming videos, Minister for Education Norma Foley has said.
• British side postpones Helen McEntee meeting amid tensions over migration: A scheduled meeting between Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and her UK counterpart James Cleverly was postponed at the last minute late on Sunday evening.
• Sharp rise in first-class degrees may be linked to student expectations and competition among universities: A sharp increase in the proportion of first class honours awarded by universities in recent years may be influenced by a range of factors including competition between institutions and the expectations of parents and students, according to Government briefing material.
• ‘He is fluent in Irish. It would be a shame to lose it.’ The boy who can’t access a secondary Gaelscoil: Sarah Cremin did not attend a Gaelscoil, but she loved Irish at school – and when her son was accepted at an Irish-medium primary school in Ranelagh, she was delighted that he would receive his education through Irish. But the chance to continue education at an Irish-medium secondary school is often decided by lottery.
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World

• Germany’s alleged coup: An aristocrat, an astrologer and an army officer go on trial for high treason: An aristocrat, an astrologer and an army officer: when postwar Germany’s first high-treason trial begins on Monday, the cast of colourful conspirators hold promise of a high-security, three-ring legal circus.

The Big Read

• Lower prices, better quality: Why buying own-brand supermarket products makes sense: The government has finally cracked down on the scourge of shrinkflation. From July retailers will have to carry warnings on products that have been reduced in size without any commensurate price cut.

Opinion

• Joe Humphreys: ‘No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs’: How common were such notices in Britain?
• Rachel O’Dwyer: I am that deeply suspect Irish creature, a mother of an only child. It was by choice

Business

• Be a team player: bring all your selves to work: When people ask “How’s it going?”, I sometimes have to stop and think. The expected response is either “great” on a good day or “fine, thanks” on the others, writes Miranda Green.

Sports

• Nicky English: Clare drive down redemption road, as Cork again leave themselves short: Munster’s matches were a mixed bag as contests. Ultimately Limerick were never threatened by Tipperary but we saw an outstanding championship match in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Life & Style

• How to praise children: Don’t link ideas of being ‘good’ with being quiet and compliant: Praising your child is a good thing, right? Well, it depends how you do it. Praise for top marks, a brilliant drawing or for scoring a goal is not always the right course.

Podcast Highlights

• In the News Podcast: Housing, immigration, Gaza: Which issues are Irish voters really paying attention to?

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