Throughout the country today, many conversations will have revolved around the Budget 2025.
However, as Jack Chambers presented his first, and this Government’s last budget, there were an abundance of non-budget related stories making headlines across the nation.
Here’s a round-up of today’s non-budget news.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that Iran has fired missiles at Israel, as air raid sirens sounded across the country.
Residents were ordered to shelter in place and remain close to bomb shelters.
Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences if Iran attacks.
Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari released a video statement on Tuesday saying “the air defence system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment”.
On Tuesday morning, the Irish Defence Forces said that Irish troops serving their peacekeeping missions in Lebanon are “accounted for and safe”.
Intense fighting has since erupted between the Israeli military and Hezbollah after Israel launched a ground invasion on Monday night.
Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy added while “the current circumstances are challenging, our personnel remain committed to their peacekeeping mission and are well trained to handle any increased volatility”.
The State must work harder to ease the burden on small business, the Tánaiste has said as his native city mourned the loss of a famous family-run chipper.
Micheál Martin was reacting to the shock news the much-loved Jackie Lennox’s fish and chip shop on Cork’s Bandon Road, which has been serving the city for 73 years, will serve its last orders on Sunday, with the loss of 30 jobs.
Its owners, brother and sister Brian and Frances Lennox, whose father, Jackie, founded the business in 1951, said they were, to an extent, victims of their own success as Brian blamed difficulties finding staff and the sheer burden of running a small business in Ireland today as among the reasons for the closure.
Mr Martin, who paid tribute to the Lennox family for their service over the decades, said the Government needed to reflect on Brian’s comments.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will cut more jobs across its Irish operations as the company continues to struggle with a decline in post-pandemic sales.
It is understood that 210 jobs will be impacted by the move, with these plans set to impact staff across Ringaskiddy in Cork, Grange Castle in west Dublin and Newbridge in Kildare.
Some of the redundancies will happen by the end of 2024, with all jobs to be cut by the end of 2025.
A luxury cruise ship which was stranded in Northern Ireland for four months remains in Belfast Lough hours after it left the city’s harbour.
Chief executive of Villa Vie Residences Mike Petterson said the liner still had to complete administrative paperwork before it could finally depart to undertake a three-year round-the-world cruise.
Villa Vie Odyssey had been scheduled to leave the city in May but was delayed as it needed repairs.
Passengers cheered, applauded and hugged the liner’s chief when he confirmed on Monday night that they were ready for departure from Belfast port.
However, the cruise ship remained in Belfast Lough on Tuesday evening. Information on the Belfast Harbour website indicated that it was due to depart at 11pm.
From Tuesday, it is illegal to import, breed, sell and rehome XL bully dogs — the first time a specific dog breed will be banned in Ireland. A full ownership ban comes into effect on February 1.
An animal rescue shelter in Limerick has seen a surge in the number of dogs being surrendered in advance of the countrywide ban.
The restrictions come after a number of fatal and life-altering attacks involving the XL bully breed, including the death of Nicole Morey, 23, who was fatally attacked by her own dogs in her home in Limerick.
Desperate residents of the storm-battered mountains of western North Carolina lined up for water and food, hunted for mobile phone signals, and took buckets from creeks to flush toilets days after Hurricane Helene’s remnants deluged the region.
Exhausted emergency workers toiled around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach people stranded by the storm, which killed at least 133 people across the southeast, a toll expected to rise.
71-year-old Aidan Bowles, originally from Glanmire, was among those who lost their lives in the devastation.
Mr Bowles was named after he was tragically killed when Category 4-level Hurricane Helene ripped through the US.
There were a number of high-profile cases before the courts on Tuesday. They included:
