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1. Irish property prices to increase by at least 8% in 2017
Property prices are set to rise by at least 8 per cent in 2017, with double-digit growth a “distinct possibility”, as today’s launch of the new help-to-buy scheme, plus looser mortgage lending rules and constrained supply drive price growth across the country.
The prediction comes in a report from myhome.ie, the property website, and Davy, the stockbroking firm, which says the help-to-buy scheme will add “fuel to the fire” in driving price growth.
2. Turkish police are ‘closing in’ on nightclub attacker
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Police in Turkey say they are closing in on a man suspected of carrying out a massacre at an upscale nightclub in Istanbul which killed 39 people in the early hours of Sunday morning and was claimed by Islamic State.
Nationals of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, Libya, Israel, India, a Turkish-Belgian dual citizen and a Franco-Tunisian woman were among those killed.
3. Irish in Britain feared being attacked after Brexit vote
Irish people living in Britain feared they would become the target of a rise in attacks on ethnic minorities in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, diplomatic correspondence reveals.
A series of internal memos and communications from the Irish Embassy in London the hours and days immediately after the vote record a high level of anxiety within community groups in Britain.
4. Sinn Féin warns Stormont may collapse over ‘cash for ash’
Sinn Féin has raised the prospect of the collapse of Stormont and Assembly elections being called if DUP leader Arlene Foster does not step aside as First Minister.
Party chairman Declan Kearney said on Monday that the political situation in Northern Ireland would be "entirely untenable" if Ms Foster does not stand down pending an investigation into the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme.
5. Apollo House: ‘It is beautiful here. I would stay forever’
Ken and Rachel, a married couple who do not want their surname used so as to protect their children’s privacy, have been in Apollo House since the first night of its occupation by campaigners.
From outside Dublin, they lost their council house following intimidation which included an arson attack, they say. Their children are with their grandparents.