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Morning top 5: May to "seek reassurances" on border backstop; Landlords to face fines for illegal rent increases; Macron announces tax cuts

The UK Prime Minister is meeting with EU leaders today in an attempt to “seek reassurances&...
Newstalk
Newstalk

06.45 11 Dec 2018


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Morning top 5: May to &#34...

Morning top 5: May to "seek reassurances" on border backstop; Landlords to face fines for illegal rent increases; Macron announces tax cuts

Newstalk
Newstalk

06.45 11 Dec 2018


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The UK Prime Minister is meeting with EU leaders today in an attempt to “seek reassurances” on the Irish border backstop.

It comes after she cancelled today’s planned House of Commons vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement – admitting it was likely to be rejected by a significant margin.

She will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to “discuss with them the clear concerns” of her Parliamentary colleagues with the agreement.

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The European Union has warned that the deal cannot be renegotiated – but said officials are “ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification.”

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Landlords who illegally increase rents could face fines of up to €30,000 under a new package of laws being presented to Cabinet today.

The new laws would also hand the Residential Tenancies Board new powers to investigate and sanction landlords without needing a complaint from someone first.

The bill would also extend the amount of notice a landlord has to give to get someone to leave the property – and could pave the way for a new rental register to publicly record rent prices.

Cabinet Ministers are due to sign off on the package of laws at their meeting this morning.

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There's been a 60% rise in the number of people seeking the Simon Communities help over the last two years.

The charity has helped over 3,000 families already this year – a rise of over 1,000 on last year.

The figures are included in the charity’s annual report released this morning.

Spokesperson Niamh Randall said the homeless crisis can be solved – but only if the Government ends its reliance on the private sector and starts building social housing.

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People will be worse off as a result of Budget 2019.

A new ESRI Report has found that, on average, there will be a reduction in households' disposable income by point 7%.

Researchers say the freeze on personal and employee tax credits and the fact that increases to social welfare payments won't keep up with wage inflation, are to blame.

Lower income households' will be the worst affected while those with higher incomes will see smaller losses.

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The French President has announced a rise to the minimum wage and cuts to taxes for the elderly - following weeks of protests.

Emmanuel Macron made the announcement after violent demonstrations by those angered by fuel tax rises and living costs. 

Hundreds of people have been arrested following the rallies which have challenged his leadership.

Mr Macron condemned the violence, but also admitted he was partly to blame.

 


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