A further three days of nurses' strikes, due to start this morning, have been avoided after Government and the INMO reached an 'eleventh hour agreement' last night. The front page of the Irish Times carries details of that story (as well as all the other papers too.) If members vote in favour of the recommendation suggested by the Labour Court, a "significant number of nurses stand to receive an increase of up to 7pc in their pay", according to the Irish Independent. Fórsa issued the following statement on the matter yesterday evening:

"Fórsa will study the detail of the Labour Court recommendation regarding the nurses' dispute, and any implications it may have for other civil and public service grades. We expect that other unions will do the same, and that the ICTU Public Services Committee will consider the matter in due course."

DPER has published an FAQ guide to the new retirement legislation that allows civil and public servants to continue working until age 70. Meanwhile, Fórsa has called on the Government to protect the incomes of public servants who reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 before the end of last year, but then stayed in work on a 12-month temporary arrangement because the state pension age had been changed from 65 to 66.

Fórsa has also agreed to enter WRC-assisted talks about the future of water services following consultation with the union’s two divisions that represent water staff in local authorities.

The Times have a story demonstrating (in their words) how 'disastrous' privatisation has been for eir as its broadband market share in Dublin stands at just 20 per cent in contrast to Virgin’s 60 per cent.

Over Stateside it seems Mr. Trump has succeeded in getting funding for his wall; Congressional negotiators have reached an agreement to prevent a US government shutdown and finance construction of new barriers along the US-Mexico border.

A joint venture between Coillte and the ESB to develop 1,000MW of wind farms could be up and running within a year if a deal between the pair can be finalised, according to Coillte CEO Fergal Leamy.

In case you were wondering what makes good football, our colleague Billy Hannigan has it explained. 

And finally, today's Zen is the 2019 Grammy winner for best rock song, St. Vincent's Masseduction. The decision has been met with some criticism as it seems not everyone would categorise it as a rock song. All I know is that I saw her perform it live at the Olympia a while back and it was one of the best gigs I've ever been to. So, rock song or not, I'd say it (and the entire album - by the same name) is worth a listen. Here's the full list of Grammy winners if you're interested.