More than 9000 nurses in Northern Ireland are on strike today, in what is just the second day of six days of industrial action by staff from the Royal College of Nursing over a pay dispute. 

As hospital trolley numbers hit unprecedented levels for the second day in a row, hospital consultants say the situation is close to being a “national emergency”. Some 760 people are waiting for a hospital bed – a new record. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said conditions are “inhumane” and the worst it has ever witnessed since counting began 15 years ago.

Danish group Obton and Irish company Shannon Energy plan to spend €300 million building plants that will generate electricity from solar power in the Republic. The pair intend spending €300 million over three years on building solar farms that will generate up to 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity, creating about 1,000 jobs in the process.

Public backlash over the state organised commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Dublin Castle later this month saw a petition to cancel the event receiving 45,000 signatures upon its launch. The event has been deferred for the time being. 

Further buses have been organised for the School Secretaries national day of action on Friday 10th January 2020. Check out our facebook page for further details. https://facebook.com/forsaunionie/

In today's zen, a plaque was erected yesterday to pay tribute to ‘The Guy Who Slipped On The Ice’ on RTÉ News on 8th January 2010 at the site of the infamous slip. Today marks a decade since the incident.