The Irish Daily Mail reports that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly "was kept in the dark about finances and policy progression at the HSE for seven months," with political correspondent Craig Hughes laying the blame for this on Fórsa's industrial action in the HSE between October 2023 and February 2024. Fórsa is quoted in Hughes' coverage. 

Fórsa's industrial action in the HSE also gets a mention in the Medical Independent's coverage of the roll-out of the HSE's integrated financial management system (IFMS).

The Indo's editorial today focuses on new EU rules on public spending and the implications for projections on public service delivery: "We must concede that an era of strong population growth, added to by a high influx of migrants seeking refuge from Ukraine and elsewhere, has not made such forward planning easy. The maintenance of current public service levels, without actually investing in improvements, has proved difficult to estimate."

Elsewhere, PDFORRA president Mark Keanehas said that they “will not be silenced” in speaking publicly about issues in the military. The PDFORRA conference gets underway this afternoon in Cavan. 

Zen

Your moment of Zen today comes from last weekend's Robert Tressell Festival, which took place at Liberty Hall and marked the conclusion of Union Week activities. President Michael D Higgins gave this speech at the festival, concluding:

"So much is possible, and can be made possible, through our collective action. For so many around the world, the battle for decent work and all it entails continues to be one of the defining struggles of our times, one that can be genuinely inclusive, emancipatory and joyful for all who participate in the cause.

Let us stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable, lowest paid and least protected workers in society. Let us defend their rights as the founders of the trade union movement did more than a century ago at the time of publication of Robert Tressell’s classic book which we celebrate today."

Have a great day.

Niall