Good morning colleagues, 

This morning we open with news that more than 50,000 people are now employed in the Civil Service. New official figures say the number of personnel in the Civil Service is now "about 16,000 higher than a decade ago," although a decade ago we were only coming to the end of a six year recruitment moratorium.

In other news today, a postponement of the implementation of the Living Wage is among a package of 15 business support measures - described by the Enterprise minister as 'clear wins' -  set to be confirmed by the Cabinet today. The Irish Times' Emmet Malone has this Q&A on the story, including reaction from ICTU. The same minister has also just launched a public consultation on the Government’s promised collective bargaining action plan.