Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said he wants to keep and reform the local property tax, and plans to defer any changes to it until 2021. The Minister added that he plans to publish a report outlining all options available for reforming the local property tax.

Ambulance personnel belonging to the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) say they are prepared to escalate their strike action following a fifth 12-hour stoppage yesterday, in the dispute over union recognition. A further strike is now planned for next Wednesday (10th April).

The Government is set to make changes to the work permit system in preparation for Brexit, making allowance for an extra 300 workers to come to Ireland to fill positions in the area of customs duties and controls. The changes, which are part of the biannual review of the Employments Permit System, will also see extra permits allowed in other areas that have labour shortages, including construction.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% in March, an 11 year low, and down from 5.6% in February. The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed stood at 131,300 in March, a decrease of 6,200 when compared to March last year.

Today's photo is of a giant Buddha statue in Leshan, China. Standing 71 metres, it is believed to be the world’s tallest stone Buddha statue, and has just reopened to the public after renovation.

Finally, today's zen is an article paying tribute to Veep, a political satire in the vain of The Thick of It and Yes Minister, ahead of its seventh and final season which begins airing tonight. As the author puts it, "Selina Meyer’s career started with failure and she has been failing spectacularly ever since." Remind you of anyone?

Have a good day folks.