Five things you need to know today

[ 1. Donald Trump promises ‘new chapter of American greatness’ ]

US president Donald Trump sought to herald the beginning of a “new chapter of American greatness” on Tuesday night as he urged Congress to unite behind his vision for the country.

In a much-anticipated address to the Joint Houses of Congress, Mr Trump said the US should “not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future” as he pledged to keep the promises he made to the American people in the election.

While the president struck a somewhat milder tone than in previous public speeches, he reiterated his commitment to his most controversial policies, including the construction of a wall on the Mexican border.

[ 2. Man due in court in Waterford over Paddy Lyons murder ]

A man in his early 20s is due to appear in court later to be charged with the murder of retired farmer Paddy Lyons in Co Waterford at the weekend.

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The man will be brought before Dungarvan District Court after gardaí received directions from the DPP late on Tuesday to charge him with the murder of the 90-year-old at his rural home.

The man was arrested by detectives at about 5pm on Monday evening in Clonmel, Co Tipperary and brought to Dungarvan Garda station for questioning. He was detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

[ 3. Care staff in ‘Grace’ case to face disciplinary proceedings ]

Disciplinary proceedings are to begin immediately into staff implicated in care failings identified in two reports on abuse allegations at a southeast foster home, the Health Service Executive has promised.

The HSE says the publication of the reports into the alleged abuse of “Grace” and other intellectually disabled people who stayed at the home has cleared the way for its disciplinary processes to get under way.

The Devine report, published on Tuesday after a delay of five years, found no one in the HSE did anything about the concerns of day services, who reported bruising on Grace’s body and evidence of sexualised behaviour. Grace stayed at the home for 14 years after an allegation of sexual abuse was made in relation to another resident, but no one in the HSE looked into the reasons why she was not moved many years earlier, it said.

[ 4. Ireland gains 5,000 millionaires as asset values rise ]

Almost 5,000 Irish people became millionaires last year, thanks to a combination of rising asset and property values.

And the rich are going to continue to get even richer – according to the Wealth Report 2017 from estate agent Knight Frank, which says some 24,900 more Irish people will be millionaires by 2026.

According to the annual report, there were 83,100 dollar millionaires – with investable assets of more than $1 million (€950,000), excluding their homes – in Ireland last year, up by 6 per cent on 2015.

[ 5. Absence of politicians at Connell funeral raises questions ]

A remarkable feature of Cardinal Desmond Connell’s funeral last week was the scarcity of public representatives, writes Patsy McGarry.

It was such a “small” affair for someone who had been a major figure in Irish life. He was also Dublin’s first cardinal since the death of Cardinal Edward McCabe in 1885.

It is true that Cardinal Connell, who would have been 91 on March 24th, had been out of office as archbishop of Dublin for almost 13 years. Such a spell out of sight hardly explains why his departure from this life last week was so out of mind where many in our public life were concerned when it came to observance of the ordinary decencies surrounding his funeral. It is usually something at which Irish people are very good. Not least our politicians.