Last week's ballot result on library services continues to gain local media coverage, as Saturday's Leitrim Observer reported that Leitrim and Roscommon county councils will be recruiting for new county librarians after an agreement between Fórsa and the representative body of local authorities.

In the Irish Examiner, Noel Baker continued his coverage of the disputed new model of assessment of need in the HSE on Saturday. This earlier report by Baker from 1st June gives background, and here's a report from our 23rd May news bulletin on the same issue.

Elsewhere, the Minister of Finance is expected to introduce measures to put a portion of corporation taxes into a ‘rainy day fund’.

Following news of the Government making a settlement with hospital consultants on Friday, one minister is reported to insist today that the consultants deal — which will see 2,600 doctors receive up to €72,000 extra a year — is a separate issue to the wider pay restoration talks with public sector unions.

In a statement issued on Friday, the INTO said the ruling "must act as a wake-up call to Government to restore new entrant pay for teachers."

That story is in the Irish Examiner. The same paper reports today that the HSE recruited more new staff for managerial, administrative, and clerical roles last year than doctors or nurses, "despite a concern within the healthcare system about the lack of frontline staff."

The latest HSE statistics reveals 17.5% of people were smokers in 2017, down from 21.5% in 2013. Yet, the latest National Litter Pollution Report has revealed that last year 56.3% of litter across the local authorities was mostly cigarette butts.

A number of news outlets reported on the results of the latest Congress survey over the weekend. The survey found that over half of young workers in Ireland are going hungry to pay the rent. The survey questioned 1,500 members under the age of 34, and found that one-in-two workers are going without essentials like food, heating and transport as they struggle to cover housing costs.

Congress policy officer Dr Laura Bambrick spoke to RTE's Drivetime programme on Friday, and followed this up with a presentation to Fórsa's branch campaign officers at the #ForsaCSS18 summer school event, which took place over the weekend.

There's been a huge number of outdoor concerts in recent weeks. From Nick Cave, LCD Soundsystem, Nile Rodgers & Chic, The Rolling Stones, Gorillaz and others. Unfortunately I haven't been to any of them, but I'm reliably informed that the world and his mother went to see Taylor Swift at Croke Park at the weekend.

A close friend described it thus: "The scale of it was magnificent - like some mythic daughter of Zeus descending to earth." 

So here's a little (admittedly less mythical, but magical in its own way) T-Swizzle to brighten up your Monday morning.