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LAST UPDATE | 3 Jul
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.
1. Content moderators were asked to think like paedophiles while they trained Meta AI tools as part of their work for an Irish outsourcing company, The Journal Investigates has learned.
Hundreds of workers employed by Irish firm Covalen – and placed on Meta content moderation and AI Annotation services – are now fighting for better conditions and pay.
2. A young girl has died after a road traffic collision in Co Donegal yesterday evening.
Three others were seriously injured.
3. Boarded-up houses and crumbling buildings are a common feature of towns and cities across Ireland.
Stephen McDermott has the vacant properties local authorities applied to obtain through Compulsory Purchase Order last month.
4. Labour has seen a double-digit drop in support in opinion polls since the general election a year ago – the first fall of its kind since John Major’s Conservative government of the 1990s.
Keir Starmer’s party has averaged 24% in polls in the past month, down 10 points from 34% in the weeks following the 2024 election.
5. Tánaiste Simon Harris has been accused of “gaslighting” in relation to comments he made recently on the number of empty council-owned homes across Ireland.
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said Harris is “gaslighting both Council staff and people in desperate need of council homes”.
6. The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen is set to face a European Parliament no-confidence vote next week.
MEPs will meet in Strasbourg, France on Monday to debate the motion for censure and a confidence vote will take place later on Thursday.
7. A pilot single application system for secondary school places has been announced today by the government.
The system will initially be rolled out for secondary schools in five towns: Athenry, Celbridge, Clonakilty, Greystones, and Tullamore.
8. A study conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute has found that when gamblers are presented with offers of free bets and moneyback guarantees, they bet more.
The ESRI has said the findings of the study show a need for stricter regulations on the gambling industry, especially when it comes to offers designed to encourage more betting.
9. Household energy bills may not see large increases as the sector seeks to raise funds for an up to €18bn revamp of Ireland’s energy grid, price comparison site Bonkers.ie has said.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has published a proposed investment plan, seeking to upgrade Ireland’s energy grid between 2026 and 2030. It could cost between €14.1bn and almost €19bn, its proposal says.
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