Top four things you need to know - Thursday July 8th

Thursday, 8 July 2021 06:33

The top four things you need to know for Thursday morning, July 8th.

Crunch talks aimed at facilitating the swift return of indoor dining will take place this afternoon.

Hospitality representatives will meet senior government officials to finalise a plan, following exploratory talks earlier this week.

Among the measures to be raised are Covid passes, which would allow vaccinated or recovered people access indoor dining.

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The Taoiseach says the Delta variant of Covid-19 is an ongoing concern and will be a 'slow-burner'.

He told his parliamentary party last night testing and tracing will be increased to try to address the highly transmissible strain.

The highest number of Covid cases in 76 days was reported yesterday, with 581 new infections.

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Large-scale lectures can go ahead in the autumn if the Covid-19 vaccination programme continues as planned.

That's what the Irish Universities Association will tell an Oireachtas committee later today.

It will say, with the majority of students vaccinated by September, this would allow the maximum possible student levels on campus.

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So-called cuckoo funds will be exempt from paying 10 per cent stamp duty if they lease the homes to local authorities.

The measure was voted through in the Dáil last night.

The tax was announced in May after concerns were raised about institutional investors bulk-buying homes.

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