January 24: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds

29,000 properties without power in wake of Storms Isha and Jocelyn
Around 29,000 homes, businesses and farms around the country are without power this morning in the wake of Storms Isha and Jocelyn. Some ESB customers were still powerless after Storm Isha hit Ireland over the weekend, with more facing outages due to Storm Jocelyn rolling in yesterday. Multiple weather warnings were in place yesterday evening, including Status Orange wind warnings for Mayo, Donegal and Galway. Brian Tapley, a regional manager at with ESB, said counties like Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo and Sligo were the counties worst affected by power outages due to the storm last night.
The Journal

HSE recruitment ban poses risk of longer queues, demoralised staff and public money wastage, report warns
A continued recruitment freeze in the Health Service Executive this year risks increasing waiting times for patients, demoralising staff and providing poor value for public money, an internal draft document has warned. Last November, the existing recruitment ban in the HSE was extended to almost all staff, with the exception of consultants, doctors in training and 2023 graduate nurses and midwives. Previously, the freeze was only enforced for managerial and administrative roles. The move, which was criticised by staff and representative unions, was in a bid to tighten expenditure in light of significant budget overruns in 2023.
The Irish Times

Mother and baby home survivors on redress delay: ‘They are playing a game of wait and die’
A three-year delay in making redress payments to the country’s aging survivors of mother and baby homes is “simply not fair on people who have been through so much”, an expert in the area has said. UCC law professor Conor O’Mahony made the comments as the compensation package — worth about €800m and due to be rolled out before the end of last year — continues to be delayed. The Department of Children told the Irish Examiner that “opening the scheme as soon as possible is an absolute priority and the scheme is set to open in Q1”, but survivors have yet to be given the green light to apply.
The Irish Examiner

Trump closes in on Biden rematch after New Hampshire win
Donald Trump has won the key New Hampshire primary, moving him ever closer to locking in the Republican presidential nomination and securing an extraordinary White House rematch with Joe Biden. With around 80% of votes counted, Mr Trump’s winning margin hovered at about 11 percentage points, but his sole remaining challenger Nikki Haley vowed to fight on.
RTÉ

Cillian Murphy says he is ‘proud to be putting Irish stories on screen’ ahead of role in Claire Keegan adaptation
Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy is “proud to be putting Irish stories on screen” as he makes his movie producing debut with the screen adaptation of Claire Keegan’s award-winning and 2022 Booker Prize nominated novel, Small Things Like These.
The actor who picked up a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer yesterday, will take on the role of intense coalman Bill Furlong. The screenplay has been written by Murphy’s long time collaborator Enda Walsh. It will also star Eileen Walsh – who Murphy shared the stage with in his breakout theatrical role Disco Pigs.
Independent.ie

Climate change: Four new emperor penguin groups found by satellite
Four new emperor penguin colonies have been identified in Antarctica from satellite imagery. It brings the number of known nesting sites around the White Continent to 66. With the discoveries, scientists believe they now know the whereabouts of all the world’s remaining breeding pairs. It’s vital information for conservationists monitoring a species that’s under increasing pressure as a result of climate change.
BBC News

Royal Mail shake-up could allow letter deliveries just three days a week
Royal Mail could be allowed to deliver letters just three days per week, under a series of options outlined by the industry regulator to help the company run a sustainable service. Ofcom said its consultation document was designed to spark a “national debate” on the future of the UK’s postal service.
Sky News

Today’s forecast
Generally dry today with a mix of cloud, sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly over the northern half of the country. Brisk westerly winds this morning in the north, light to moderate elsewhere but easing light southerly through the day. Highest temperatures of 8 to 10 degrees. Becoming cloudier in the southwest this evening, with patchy rain and drizzle developing. Dry in many areas at first tonight but cloud, rain and drizzle will continue move in from the southwest bringing dull and misty conditions. Lowest temperatures of 2 to 7 degrees, coolest early on in Ulster with some frost possible. Light to moderate southerly winds will freshen later.
Met Éireann