The Irish Times also leads with news that the Government will press ahead with plans to spend €9 million on smartphone pouches despite new research that found banning phones in schools is not linked to pupils getting higher grades or having better mental health. In other education news, primary school teachers will get training to teach foreign languages such as French, German and Spanish as part of a planned shake-up of the curriculum. 

Analysts at Davy stockbrokers say Ireland needs 93,000 new homes a year up to 2031 to tackle its chronic housing shortage, "by which time our population will be nudging six million."

The same article reports that the president of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has said slowing inflation in the construction sector "makes it an ideal time for the Government to accelerate the much-needed investment in public infrastructure in areas such as utilities, transportation and healthcare."

Meanwhile, the US-Ireland Partnership for Growth is to lead a delegation of senior congressional staff to Ireland later this month for four days of key meetings with prominent political and industry leaders. 

Elsewhere, a reminder of the precariously grim existence endured by many migrant workers as RTÉ reports on a chef with no English who was put to work for around €25 a day at a Chinese takeaway while working up to 73 hours a week to pay off an "illegal" €60,000 debt he took on as a "recruitment fee." 

Zen 

Meet Jo Nemeth, a woman who lives without money.

Have a great day.

Niall Shanahan