Elsewhere, "The battle for decent work is the defining struggle of our times" was ICTU General Secretary Patricia King's message to SIPTU delegates in Cork. Also, I'd urge you to take a couple of minutes to enjoy Paddy Cole's excellent video for the conference. As always Paddy, bualadh bos.

Yesterday's top news story was about how protection money for criminals paid by at least one construction firm to ensure a building site remained free from attack was first given to a Dublin City Council official at a petrol station. It's reported today that the Government may look into whether councils around the country have paid “security” or protection money to ensure houses can be built without anti-social behaviour.

For a better understanding of this particular business model you might want to break out your old box set of The Sopranos.

Elsewhere, poor pay and harsh working conditions are common on foreign farms and plantations that supply tea or fruit to UK supermarkets including Lidl, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons, according to an Oxfam report. The charity claims that a “relentless” drive by supermarkets to cut costs and maximise profits is fuelling poverty, abuse and gender discrimination in their supply chains originating in India and Brazil.

Miriam Lord, and the Dáil, caught the Taoiseach rapid with someone else's crib notes, while today's Brexit focus is on the Taoiseach's meeting with the UK taoiseach (well if they keep insisting on calling ours the Irish Prime Minister...right?)

Your moment of Zen is just to remind me where I'm going today.