Newsround: what Wednesday's papers say

The top stories in Wednesday's newspapers:

THE IRISH TIMES

-The Irish Times reports that the independent budget watchdog, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, has warned that the €1.3 billion budget package is set to break key EU rules while its front page also carries a story saying that Fianna Fáil has claimed the credit for greater public spending.

-The paper also reports that social advantages are still shaping the life chances of children with their future prospects dependent on family circumstances. It says this has public policy implications for supporting children from families most in need.

-Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he will run in the next election, causing no surprise among Fine Gael TDs although they want to know when he will stand down as leader. When asked if he would be Taoiseach for the next budget, Kenny said "I hope so", the paper says.

-On its business pages, the paper reports that Samsung has scrapped the Galaxy Note 7 due to ongoing fire concerns while it also says that Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has offered to provide a third terminal at Dublin Airport for €200 million and reports that sterling has slumped to a seven-year low against the euro.

FINANCIAL TIMES

-The Financial Times leads with the story that Samsung has abandoned its flagship phone, the Galaxy Note 7, after failing to resolve the problem with battery fires as $19 billion was wiped off the company's value.

- It also says that Russia's VTB Bank has become the first big lender to say publicly that it will move its investment banking headquarters out of the UK because of the disruption expected to be caused by Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

-The paper reports that Donald Trump fired off a flurry of tweets yesterday attacking the Republican leadership as "more difficult than crooked Hillary" as splits over his White House election campaign spilled into the open.

-Brexit is the subject of the paper's Big Read as it says that while the timetable for the UK to leave the European Union is becoming clear, planning for the period after exit is anything but.

IRISH INDEPENDENT

-The Irish Independent reports that the first budget of the 'new politics' era will deliver just €5 a week for most workers and social welfare recipients after eight years of cutbacks and tax hikes and says this piecemeal payback won't make for a fairer Ireland.

-In further reports on the budget, the paper says stay-at-home parents and families have been left out of the childcare plan while the help-to-buy scheme will only fuel house price hikes.

-The paper also reports that Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan will face questions from TDs over the alleged smear campaign against whistleblowers at a Justice Committee hearing later today.

-In the business section, the paper reports that London's FTSE 100 hit a record high yesterday as sterling remained under pressure against both the euro and the dollar. It also says that Aldi is investing €1 billion in the Irish and UK retail sector as its revenues surged last year.

IRISH EXAMINER

-The Irish Examiner warns on its front page that a black hole of up to €300 million is looming in the public finances next year as the government has not made provision for the abolition of water charges in its Budget 2017 figures.

-The paper also reports on the ESRI study showing that parents' wealth and education still impact on children's potential, highlighting the need to devise public policy that targets resources at families with the greatest needs.

-On the business pages, the paper reports that a Bank of England policy maker has said he would not be surprised if the pound fell further but that the bank could overlook the effect of sterling weakness on inflation, possibly for years.

-A back page report in the paper says that the number of British and Northern Irish applications for Irish passports looks set to continue and is likely to reach one million in 2019. Year-to-date applications from Britain are 40 per cent higher than in the first nine months of 2015.