Your Morning Headlines – 14/04/2015

Good morning. Here are the headlines at the start of the day.

1. Missing Irish Woman

The search for an Irish woman missing in Glasgow continues today.

Karen Buckley from Cork was in a nightclub in Glasgow on Saturday and told her friends around 1am that she was going to use the toilet but never returned. CCTV footage shows her talking to a man outside on Dumbarton Road before walking away.

Police have located the man Karen was talking to in the footage but  are searching through area where CCTV showed she was last seen. They and Karen’s family and friends are appealing for anyone who has seen Karen in those early morning hours to come forward with information.

2. Irish Water Protest

Gardai are investigating an attack on a woman that left her bloodied at a water charge protest.

One of four that lodged themselves at the Fingal County Council’s revolving door, the woman was reportedly injured in an altercation involving the door and some gardai, according to a video posted by the Dublin Says No facebook page.

Gardai have said that they were called to attend a protest and did get involved with the woman injured but said that her injury was minor.

3. Australian Visa Fraud

Immigration authorities in Australia are investigating visa fraud possibly done by Irish applicants using their Irish language names to attain visas they are not entitled to.

Irish visa applicants can hide the fact that they had already attained a visa with their English names by using new passports with the Irish version of their names.

A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Patrol has said that the matter is known to them and that they are working with government partners to accurately identify such cases of visa fraud.

4. Bus Strike

SIPTU has remarked that more than one day of industrial action may be needed in order to attain satisfactory discussions with Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann.

Yesterday it was announced that the National Bus and Rail Union will stage industrial action on the 1st of May which will include a two hour work stoppage and protests in parts of the country.

However, SIPTU Construction and Utilities organiser Owen Reidy said on Morning Ireland today that a more sustained campaign is being considered.

5. Permanent TSB

State-owned bank Permanent TSB has said that they have no plans to answer any criticism of their high variable mortgage rates.

In a statement on how the state-owned firm plans to take itself back to public ownership, the bank plans to double the profits they were making on loans in the next three years and buy back €400 million in government-owned convertible notes.

The bank also announced plans to lift its net interest margin to 1.7%, compared to the 2014 average of 0.9%, despite pressure to cut their variable interest rates and bring Ireland more in step with average borrowing costs in the Eurozone.

 

Writer – Leandro Pondoc

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