Ireland

Five things you need to know today

FF and FF level in new poll; plan to build 50,000 social houses; Hurricane to hit Florida

Motorists wait in a line of cars to buy gas at a Chevron petrol station, on Wednesday in Florida. Hurricane Matthew marched toward Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas and nearly 2 million people along the coast were urged to evacuate their homes, a mass exodus ahead of a major storm packing power the US hasn’t seen in more than a decade. Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

Thu Oct 6 2016 - 08:35

1. Fianna Fáil is level with Fine Gael after seven-point drop in support, 'Irish Times' poll shows
Fianna Fáil has suffered a big drop in support over the summer and is now neck and neck with Fine Gael, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.
After a massive increase in the last poll in July, the main Opposition party has fallen back seven points to 26 per cent, while Fine Gael has gained two points at 26 per cent. Sinn Féin (19 per cent) and the Independents (24 per cent) have also gained while Labour (5 per cent) support has remained unchanged.
Despite the drop in support for Fianna Fáil however, Micheál Martin remains easily the most popular of the party leaders.

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2. High-ranking garda to demand inquiry into force
A high-ranking garda is to urge the Minister for Justice to set up an inquiry into the force's administration because of concerns over its "dysfunctionality".
The request will be supported by a report, drawn up by the officer, on perceived systems and management failings which will be related, in some cases, to specific incidents.
The officer is currently consulting legal advisers, but it is understood the request will be sent to Frances Fitzgerald before the end of the month.

[ http://iti.ms/2dU9QzY ]

3. Plan aims to provide 50,000 social houses by 2021
Details about the provision of almost 50,000 new social houses and apartments, as well as funding for the refurbishment of 750 additional vacant council houses this year, are due to be announced today.
Minister for Housing Simon Coveney will give a breakdown of how the homes are to be provided between now and 2021 as part of his action plan on housing and homelessness, Rebuilding Ireland.
Over the next five years, 26,036 social houses and apartments will be built, 10,928 will be acquired and 10,036 will be leased.

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4. Insurers criticise new guidelines on personal injury damages
A new set of guidelines on the level of damages awarded for injuries has been criticised by the insurance industry for not benchmarking the figures against international norms.
The data published by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board is based on figures for 51,000 closed personal injury claims in 2013 and 2014. It represents the first update of the "book of quantum" since 2004.
Overall, the new data shows 35 groups of injuries moving upwards in settlement values.
Insurance Ireland chief executive Kevin Thompson said while publication of the new book was welcome, it was unfortunate it did not internationally benchmark awards.

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5. Hurricane Matthew heads toward Florida as millions urged to evacuate
More than 1.5 million people have been urged to evacuate the southeastern coast and Florida Governor Rick Scott warned residents to prepare for a possible direct hit that could be catastrophic.
Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated from the path of Matthew, which caused severe flooding and killed four people in the Dominican Republic as well as at least 22 in Haiti.
The hurricane, which damaged the majority of homes in Haiti's south, prompting the hard-hit country to postpone a long-awaited presidential election.

[ http://iti.ms/2dGE8bP ]

And finally: The Garda whisteblowers: who are they and what happened?

Peter Murtagh profiles those involved in the Garda whistleblowing case: Maurice McCabe, John Wilson, Nick Keogh, Keith Harrison and David Taylor.

[ http://iti.ms/2dUaX2N ]

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