What the papers say: Saturday's front pages
Eva Osborne
A range of stories feature on the front pages of Irish newspapers on Saturday.
The Irish Times leads with senior gardaí questioning the Defence Forces’ handling of the security incident in the skies off the Dublin coast on Monday night, around the time Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s aircraft arrived for a State visit to Ireland.
The drone incident is regarded as a possible effort to disrupt the flight’s arrival or to cause embarrassment to the Republic and highlight its weak defences.
The Department of Higher Education wants to allow private accommodation providers to hike rents for students more often to attract more developers into the sector, according to the Irish Examiner.
A terrifying Christmas Day ordeal for four people in a house that was deliberately set on fire was all the more frightening for one woman who had to be rescued from the roof of an adjoining house as the fire blazed below, The Echo reports.
The Irish Independent leads with airport operator DAA paying the benefit-in-kind tax for its directors on the tens of thousands of euro worth of services they use, from Dublin Airport's VIP terminal to car-parking.
An Irish peacekeeping patrol escaped injury when their armoured car came under gun attack in southern Lebanon, the Irish Daily Mirror reports.
The Irish Daily Star leads with Donald Trump finally getting a peace award - from FIFA.
Ireland's potential to develop offshore wind energy is far smaller than initially believed due to large swathes of our water being unsuitable, according to the Irish Daily Mail.
A garda punched his daughter in the face in a "most cruel" assault after she came home from a night out, according to The Herald.
