Video: Emergency Departments overrun; two more arrests made in Killarney

Emergency Department pressure

People have been urged to consider alternative care pathways before going to Emergency Departments (EDs) as hospitals come under increased pressure.

Attendances have been fuelled by a rapid increase in flu, Covid-19 and RSV cases, with 1,500 people currently in hospital with those illnesses.

The HSE expects the rise to continue for “a number of weeks”, which will “seriously impact” hospitals.

Property market resilience

The property market proved to be resilient to cost-of-living fears and external pressures throughout last year, a new report has said.

The MyHome.ie quarterly house price report found the market had held up better than evidence had suggested in 2022.

The number of vendors cutting asking prices remained at low levels, while house prices were being settled above asking prices.

However, the report warned that the resilience of the housing marking is set to be tested in 2023.

Killarney violent incident

Two more men have been arrested in connection with a violent incident at a hotel in Co Kerry which is serving as a Direct Provision centre, bringing the total number of arrests to eight.

The incident took place on Sunday evening at Hotel Killarney. Four men were hospitalised having sustained stab wounds and other injuries, while more were treated at the scene.

Earlier, Kerry County Councillor Niall O'Callaghan said the centre in Killarney had been a "recipe for disaster". However, Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman said the violence was "an isolated incident", and added that safety measures are being introduced to de-escalate tensions.

China Covid restrictions

China has condemned the introduction of Covid-19 testing on passengers arriving in some countries from the Asian country, and threatened its own counter-measures.

Australia and Canada this week joined a growing list of countries requiring travellers from China to take a Covid test before boarding their flight as the country battles a nationwide outbreak after abruptly easing restrictions that were in place for much of the pandemic.

Other countries including the US, the UK, India, Japan and several European nations have announced tougher measures on Chinese travellers amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears that new variants could spread.

“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take counter-measures based on the principle of reciprocity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in response to the measures.