Early Edition

A founding member of the Irish pop-rock band The Script is the landlord of a mould-ridden, unregistered rented studio described by the tenant living there as “uninhabitable”.Donald Trump’s “baby bonds” involve opening an investment account, like a pension, but can be managed from birth. The programme for government proposes a similar idea.Calf’s head, pressed beef and hare meat are Christmas recipe ideas featured in The Irish Times archives. Úna McCaffrey has been trawling through them and found some other tips for women hosting the festive dinner.Forget the streaming services’ mediocre Christmas TV offerings and relive the golden era of linear TV’s “Christmas special”. From Father Ted to Alan Partridge, Lauren Murphy has been ranking the ten best festive episodes of iconic TV sitcoms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The most common scams that led to money being stolen from people this year started with text messages sent to phones. Consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope is writing about new research released by AIB this morning.There’s been a warming of relations between the British government and the European Commission. Yesterday it announced it’s rejoining the Erasmus student exchange programme, after Brexit brought an end to it.An Irish citizen has been remanded in custody in Germany, over an alleged break in at a plant linked to an Israeli defence company. Derek Scally writes that Daniel Tatlow-Devally is kept in his cell for 23 hours a day.Corinna Hardgrave is nominating the best eateries in Ireland in her annual “restaurant oscars.” She’s picked three for Early Edition; one casual dining, one mid-range and one fine dining experience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish Times has learned of a report into a number of allegations of patients being mistreated at Bloomfield Hospital in south Dublin. Our health correspondent Shauna Bowers says they include patients being slapped, left in soiled clothing and threatened with an injection for not co-operating with staff.The highly anticipated review into Fianna Fáil’s calamitous presidential election campaign has been revealed. There’s no smoking gun in relation to what the Taoiseach and other senior party figures knew about Mr. Gavin’s rent dispute with a former tenant, but political editor Pat Leahy says it does clarify how the campaign unravelled.A London company has been hired to provide counter terrorism simulations for Gardaí ahead of Ireland’s holding of the EU presidency next year. Crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher says Gardaí will “war game” a number of scenarios, including a large scale terrorist attack.With just over a week until many of us will be panicking about preparing the Christmas dinner, you might be relieved to hear that even professional chefs take shortcuts in the kitchen on December 25th. Here are the shop-bought suggestions that will work for everybody. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan says there is no intelligence to suggest a heightened risk to the Jewish community in Ireland following Sunday’s terrorist gun attack in Sydney. But speaking on Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan, he says antisemitism is something we have to confront.After a suggestion in the US that 50 year mortgages could be one way of making American homes more affordable, Fiona Reddan looks at the viability of introducing them here.A quiet, months-long battle between James Comer, the Republican chair of the oversight committee, and Bill and Hillary Clinton over the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation could come to a head this week.What’s Christmas like in Dubai? Waterford native Sinéad McCann is our first emigrant to share her experience of being abroad in December. Our “Letters Home for Christmas” series explores views about Ireland through the lens of young emigrants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.