5 Things you need to know today

1. Brexit result triggers wave of hate crimes in UK

"Asylum seekers are selling drugs to kids and raping our women," a middle-aged man in northern England, his face contorted with rage, told me last week when I asked why he was voting for Brexit. Unless the UK left the EU, he assured me, the country would descend into civil war between whites and Muslims. Extremist views were not hard to find on the referendum campaign trail. The following day, in another part of northern England, a young woman told me that her country was being "overrun by Muslims" who are having "100 kids each". Now that Brexit has come to pass, such poisonous sentiments have mutated into action. Racist incidents have risen by 57 per cent in just a single week. "Disgraceful examples of racial abuse have been reported around the country this week," said Mark Hamilton, who is responsible for dealing with hate crime at the National Police Chiefs' Council.

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2. Generation Emigration: Irish resettled in Canada happiest

Canada is the country where Irish emigrants find greatest happiness, this year's Irish Times Generation Emigration survey suggests. Almost eight in ten (79 per cent) recent emigrants surveyed in Canada said they were happier there than they were in Ireland. And the positivity extends well beyond the Canadian border. In all countries surveyed, a majority of Irish emigrants – 70 per cent – said they were happier in the countries they had moved to. The satisfaction rate was 73 per cent in Australia and New Zealand, 72 in mainland Europe, 69 per cent in the US, 67 per cent in the UK, and 58 per cent in the rest of the world. The survey, conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of The Irish Times, interviewed 350 Irish-born people who had emigrated between 2008 and 2015. This is the second Irish Times poll of Irish emigrants. The first took place in 2012.

3. CAO countdown: Deadline surge of applicants expected

A surge of applications for third-level courses is expected on Friday ahead of the 5.15pm deadline for CAO change-of-mind applications. A record 76,000 people have applied to study at third level this year, with points increases likely across a range of courses linked to the economic recovery such as architecture, engineering, construction and business-related courses. CAO communications officer Eileen Keleghan has advised applicants not to make changes to their application based on assumptions about their Leaving Cert exam performance. "Every year we experience a surge in last-minute amendments to CAO applications," she said."What we would like to advise applicants to avoid doing is making changes to their order of preference or course choices based on how they feel they have performed in their examinations."

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4. Dáil motion to call for delegation to visit Halawa in Egypt

The Dáil is expected to pass a motion next week calling for the release of Ibrahim Halawa and for a delegation to be sent to Egypt to meet the imprisoned Irish student. Mr Halawa (20) has been in prison since August 2013, when he was arrested in Cairo during protests against the ousting of then-president Mohamed Morsi. He and 493 others have been put on mass trial, but proceedings have been postponed 14 times. A cross-party meeting took place last night on the issue, instigated by Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. Also present were Labour leader Brendan Howlin, Aengus O'Snodaigh from Sinn Féin and Sean Haughey of Fianna Fáil.

5. Martin O’Neill’s words were humbling and showed a touch of class

The other night in Lille, your correspondent registered a 'first' in post-match press conferences. Normally, these are bustling crowded affairs where it is not always easy to get in your question. After the Republic of Ireland's win over Italy, it was just a little different. Sitting in the front row to make sure I got my nose in, I greeted Martin O'Neill with a "complimenti" (well done) and was about to ask him a football question when he said: "For those of you who don't know, Paddy and me come from the same village in Northern Ireland and I have followed Paddy's career with a lot of interest over the years" The point about O'Neill's gracious and kind words is that we do indeed come from the same village, Kilrea in Co Derry (or Co Londonderry, but that is the point of this story). Martin and myself were both born in Kilrea, in March 1952. Yet, such was the apartheid-style of divided Northern Ireland that our paths never crossed until many years later when I would cover Billy Bingham's Northern Irish side of the early '80s, of which Martin was the accomplished captain.

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