Euromillions €250m lottery winner in Ireland comes forward
The holder of the winning ticket for a EuroMillions jackpot of €250m (£213m) has come forward, the Irish National Lottery has said.It said the winning ticket was sold by a retailer in County Cork.It added that the name of the shop which sold the winning ticket would be announced on Friday.It is said to be the largest ever EuroMillions jackpot to be won in Ireland.
The winning numbers were 13, 22, 23, 44, 49, Lucky Stars 3 and 5."We are absolutely thrilled to have heard from our EuroMillions winner," Irish National Lottery spokesperson Emma Monaghan said."At this point, our priority is to give them the necessary time and space to make arrangements and let this life-changing news sink in."The company said no other details will be revealed at this stage.The EuroMillions jackpot is capped once it reaches €250m.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
US demand for weight loss drugs drives Irish exports
A huge surge in Ireland's goods exports in the first quarter of 2025 was partially due to demand for weight loss drugs in the United States, the central bank in Dublin has said. The main reason for the big rise in Irish exports was businesses getting goods into the US before President Donald Trump's tariffs took effect in April. March was a record month for Irish exports to the US with sales worth $25bn (£18.7bn), 400% higher than the same period in 2024. The Central Bank of Ireland said this surge was "concentrated in a single product category: ingredients used in weight loss and diabetes medicines". It added that when the tariff effect was stripped out there was "some evidence of strong momentum in underlying goods exports related to weight loss products, ingredients for which are manufactured in Ireland". "The pharmaceutical sector in Ireland appears well placed to take advantage of rapidly rising global demand for these products." Weight loss drugs manufactured in Ireland The US firm Eli Lilly makes the active pharmaceutical ingredients for its Zepbound and Mounjaro weight loss treatments near Kinsale in County Cork. Earlier this decade it invested $800m (£597m) in the Cork facility to help meet anticipated demand for the drug. Eli Lilly said in the first quarter of 2025 its sales of the drugs were worth just over $6bn (£4.5bn) compared to $2.3bn (£1.7bn) in the same period in 2024. Zepbound and Mounjaro are among a class of drugs which work as an appetite suppressant by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This is an intestinal hormone which is released after eating, and typically makes people feel fuller. Most of the US's major pharmaceutical companies have manufacturing operations in Ireland, partially for tax reasons. That has made the US Ireland's biggest export market with pharmaceuticals the most important sector. Trump has not yet imposed tariffs on pharmaceuticals but is threatening to do so on national security grounds. Until that happens the majority of Irish goods exported to the US do not face tariffs.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Rent pressure zone extension signed into law
Rent pressure zones have been extended nationwide following the signing of emergency legislation into law by President Michael D Higgins. The system, which caps rent increases at the rate of inflation or 2 per cent, whichever is lower, have also been extended until the end of February after originally being due to expire at the end of the year. Advertisement If no action had been taken, there would have left a two-month gap before the Government's proposed changes to the rental sector are due to take effect in March. The measures were rushed through the Dáil and the Seanad this week before being signed into law by Mr Higgins on Thursday evening. The Government is being pressured again over the housing crisis after announcing a swathe of new rent and housing measures. This includes the introduction of rent caps nationwide of 2 per cent or to inflation, whichever is lower. Advertisement This will apply to around a fifth of tenancies not already covered, but has been criticised for allowing rents to 'reset' to the market rate when renters voluntarily leave a tenancy. New six-year minimum tenancies on offer from March next year have been criticised for allowing landlords to 'reset' rents every six years. Earlier, Minister for Housing James Browne said the target to build 41,000 new homes this year was 'not realistic'. Mr Browne has admitted previously that meeting the 2025 target would be 'extremely challenging' and all predictions are trending around 34,000. Advertisement Speaking on Newstalk on Thursday, he said he is committed to enacting a 'step change' in the housing department and will clear 'the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered'. 'I think the challenge we have this year is we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected,' he said of the housing targets. 'We had hoped for much higher figures last year. 'I think, looking at all of the different predictions, which are fairly consistent, I think 41,000 is not realistic for this year. Advertisement 'We will wait to see how the year works out. I don't particularly like getting into predictions. 'My position as minister is to maximise supply, maximise the delivery of new homes and, irrespective of what the housing numbers will be this year, I'm making a step change so we can get that housing supply up, because we need to get from 30,000 onto 50,000, on to 60,000 houses. '40,000 houses is nowhere near enough.' The last Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition built more than 130,000 homes between 2020 and 2024, while the current coalition has set a target of in excess of 300,000 new homes between 2025 and 2030. Advertisement The target for this year is 41,000 new builds, despite the fact the Government missed its target of 33,450 last year and also missed its new-build social housing target by 1,429 last year. The Central Bank has also projected the Government will miss its own housing targets by a wide margin for the next three years – and on Thursday revised its prediction down further, predicting 32,500 newbuilds by the end of 2025. Ireland Rent pressure zones: What are they and what change... Read More The Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government, supported by several independents, has insisted boosting supply is the best way to encourage affordability while opposition parties argue more state-owned homes and regulation is needed. 'We'd gotten to a point with housing where we had seen a very significant increase in supply over the last number of years, and then it's plateaued,' Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said. 'The job of this government, and the job we're working on day in day out, is to get that momentum back.'
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Ireland is the second most expensive EU country, figures show
Ireland is the second most expensive country in the European Union — behind only Denmark — with prices just over 38 per cent above the average in the bloc, according to new figures from Eurostat. Data from the EU's statistical agency show that back in 2015 prices in Ireland were 28 per cent above average. Advertisement When it comes to alcohol and tobacco, prices in Ireland are the most expensive in the EU at 205 per cent of the EU average. Much of this is due to Government taxation, and more recently, minimum unit pricing on alcohol. For alcohol alone, prices are the second highest in the EU — after Finland — at almost 198 per cent of the EU average. Food and non-alcoholic drink prices in Ireland are the third highest in the EU, behind Luxembourg and Denmark, at almost 15 per cent above average. However, this is an improvement on recent years, as prices were over 21 per cent above average in 2020. Restaurant and hotel prices are the second highest in the EU, behind only Denmark, at 29 per cent above average. Advertisement Communications costs are almost 40 per cent above average. Ireland is also the third most expensive country for electricity, gas and fuel with prices over 17 per cent above average. Meanwhile, clothing prices are actually 1 per cent below the EU average and cheaper than in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Meanwhile, the price of furniture, carpets and flooring is only 6 per cent above average, while the cost of household appliances is 9 per cent higher. Non-EU countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were also included in the research and generally have prices higher than Ireland. Daragh Cassidy from price comparison site said the figures confirmed the widespread belief that Ireland is an expensive country. Advertisement "There are several reasons why prices here are so high," he said. "These include: our higher wages, a lack of competition in certain sectors, high taxation on certain goods such as tobacco, alcohol and fuel, and lower government subsidies in certain areas such as public transport and childcare compared to our European neighbours. Business Cost of living in Ireland: How quickly are prices... Read More "Businesses are also faced with high insurance and energy costs, which then get passed on to consumers. "Ireland will never be a cheap place to live. And it's worth noting that many of the world's most expensive countries such as Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark also have some of the highest standards of living in the world. "The problem is that wages in Ireland, while high by international standards, generally don't match the salaries in these countries. At the same time, taxpayers in more expensive countries tend to get back more from the Government in terms of better and more affordable healthcare, childcare and public transport — though there have been welcome improvements made here in Ireland in recent years. Advertisement "At a minimum, the Government should look at measures that are within its control to lower the impact of high prices and the cost of living in Ireland."
