Dáil returns
The Dáil is returning to work after a nine-week summer break, facing a series of challenges including a housing crisis, spiralling energy bills and how to balance the budget amid a cost-of-living emergency.
The Dáil resumes from 2pm this afternoon, while the Seanad, the Oireachtas’ upper house, resumes at 2.30pm.
The Government’s legislative programme is due to go before Cabinet today with 35 priority bills, according to chief whip Jack Chambers.
Minimum wage
Trade unions have criticised Government plans to increase the minimum wage by 80 cent to €11.30 an hour, saying it does not go far enough in working towards a living wage.
Unite called on the Government to set aside the Low Pay Commission report which recommends an increase in the hourly minimum wage of just 80 cent to €11.30.
Unite said that the proposed 80 cent increase means that the Government has effectively "ripped up" its commitment to move to a living wage by the end of its term in office.
Dublin flat death
A man whose body was found in a Dublin city flat, a week after he died, has been named.
The body of 28-year-old Tony Dempsey was discovered in a ground floor flat at Kevin Barry House on Coleraine Street in the north inner city shortly before 6.30pm on Monday evening.
It is believed his body was left to decompose on the floor for over a week after he suffered a violent assault.
Mortgage rates
The average interest rate on a new mortgage in Ireland has fallen for the fourth month in a row.
The interest rate in July stood at 2.63 per cent, down from 2.68 per cent in June.
Ireland, along with Malta and Greece, were the only countries in the euro zone to see a fall in mortgage rates. All other countries saw a rise in average rates.
