5 Things you need to know today

1. Massive surge in support for Fianna Fáil, poll shows

There has been a massive surge in support for Fianna Fáil since the party decided to back a minority government from the Opposition benches, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll. It is the highest rating achieved by the party in an Irish Times poll since before the financial crisis eight years ago. The poll also shows that Micheál Martin is easily the most popular of the party leaders. Fine Gael and the Labour Party have slipped since the general election but the big losers have been Independents and Others whose support has dropped significantly since February. The poll was taken on Monday and Tuesday of this week when the Independent Alliance Ministers were at odds with their Government colleagues over abortion and the fallout from the UK referendum continued to dominate the headlines.

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2. Charity boss received undisclosed payment of €600,000

The St John of God charity has made an undisclosed payment of more than €600,000 to its most senior lay executive to discharge pension and employment liabilities. The size of the largest payment to group chief executive John Pepper is far greater than previously thought. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has sent in its internal auditors after learning about this and other payments totalling €1.64 million paid to 14 senior executives. The team will be led by the same officials who uncovered massive irregularities in spending at the suicide prevention charity Console.

3. Chilcot report reveals a litany of bloody failures

The UK went to war in Iraq on the basis of faulty intelligence, with inadequate planning for the invasion and its aftermath and before peaceful options to contain Saddam Hussein had been exhausted, Sir John Chilcot's report concludes. It does not state explicitly that the war was illegal but comes close, saying that the decision about its legal basis was made in a way that was "far from satisfactory". Seven years in the making and running to more than 6,000 pages, the report is damning in its criticism of Tony Blair and the UK's intelligence and military chiefs. It concludes that Iraq presented no imminent threat on the eve of a war that left tens of thousands dead, a million people displaced and the entire region destabilised, with deadly consequences still felt today.

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4. Five heifers shot by soldiers as part of bankruptcy seizure

Five heifers were shot dead by soldiers on a farm in Co Monaghan on Tuesday as part of a bankruptcy seizure, it has emerged. The Red Limousin heifers, on John Hoey's farm, Annacroft, outside Carrickmacross, were killed by members of the Defence Forces after attempts to move them failed. Mr Hoey was declared bankrupt in February and, his assets were seized by Chris Lehane, official assignee in charge of bankruptcies. Most of his herd was removed, but five animals proved difficult to catch and, with the approval of the Department of Agriculture, were shot in situ. Mr Hoey said he was working on his farm on Tuesday morning. His partner and six-month-old son were in the house when he heard shots.

5. Ronaldo ends Welsh fairytale

Portugal's almost endless run of knock-out stage defeats doesn't qualify for them for perennial bridesmaid status, so there will be relief around their camp that for the first time since they contrived to lose the final of this tournament on home soil in 2004 they will at least be up front and centre when the gold is up for grabs on Sunday evening. Inevitably, it is Ronaldo, with a goal and assist, who will get the credit for getting Portugal to the Stade de France, not least from himself one suspects, but as with the French in a couple of their most recent games, they were fortunate here to meet an underdog whose day of reckoning had come. Gareth Bale did his level best to haul Chris Coleman's side over another hurdle but it was nowhere close to good enough as those around him ran out of steam and the absence of players, most obviously Aaron Ramsey, whose yellow cards in previous games had been a part of the price of getting this far, was acutely felt.

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