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1. Bus Éireann drivers prepare for return to work
Bus Éireann services may be on the road as early as Thursday evening following the intervention of the Labour Court.
National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) general secretary Dermot O’Leary said all five unions involved in the 20 day dispute have given a commitment to the court that they will lift pickets on depots once the court issues its recommendations. That is expected to come at lunchtime on Thursday.
2. Water charges: focus shifts to refunds after FF deal with FG
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Fianna Fáil has called on the Government to set aside money for water charge refunds in October's budget.
The move follows the publication of the final report of the Oireachtas committee on water charges on Wednesday which recommended the thousands of householders who paid their charges receive their money back.
Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said last night he would consult with the Department of Expenditure and Reform as well as the Department of Finance on the best way to deal with refunds.
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Tensions between Russia and the United States deepened yesterday as US president Donald Trump said relations with Russia were at an "all-time low". Moscow rejected calls by the US to withdraw support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Speaking in the White House following a meeting with the secretary general of Nato, the US president said it was "possible" that Russia knew about the chemical attacks in Syria on April 4th. "I would like to think that they didn't know but certainly they could have. They were there . . . We'll find that out," he said.
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This country has a strange,intense relationship with men brandishing acoustic guitars like a shield of the knight of the realm, protecting them from the frivolity of the fake.
Remember the collective insanity about David Gray, the anointing of Damien Rice? Witness the meteoric rise of the newly blessed Hozier, Irish audiences find such power in authenticity. This is the fuel of Ed Sheeran, this reliance on the real is what connects him to his audience.
5. Canadian who travelled to Ireland for sex with girl (14) sentenced
A Canadian man, who travelled to Ireland twice for sex with a 14-year-old Irish girl has received a 4.5 year prison sentence at a court in Edmonton, Canada, following a joint investigation by the Garda and Canadian police.
Joshua Robert Tremblay (34) pleaded guilty to two counts of child-luring, one count of sexual interference and two counts of breaching conditions.