The Indo runs a story today from trade union reactions to news that the new Programme for Government includes a commitment to review remote working arrangements in the Civil Service. The same programme is criticised for its absence of ambition on climate action.

In other new government news, a Fine Gael plan to unveil a mini-budget for business in the first 100 days of the next government has been dropped amid concerns about international instability and economic uncertainty. 

The Indo reports that Fórsa and the INMO are set to ask their executives “to endorse a plan for industrial action in the coming weeks."

Elsewhere, renowned Irish HIV/AIDS activist Bernárd Lynch will receive the Freedom of the City of London at a ceremony later today. 

Meanwhile, schools have been told that they cannot award exemptions for the study of Irish on the basis of psychologists’ reports commissioned by parents which recommend that their children should not have to study the language.

Finally, in an article about AI in th workplace, Emmet Malone reports that 50% of the work that gets done in banking and insurance today could actually be executed and completed by technology on its own.

Zen 

Zen today is a Netflix recommendation for the weekend. Capital, an adaptation of John Lanchester's novel, was adapted by the BBC. A four part drama about intersecting lives on a rapidly-gentrifying London street, it has a talented cast and a mystery at its core. Worth a watch.

Have a great weekend. 

Niall Shanahan