Anne-Marie Walsh reports on developments this week at Aer Lingus, and this morning's member news bulletins will also carry that story, in addition to news on the union's non-cooperation instruction to SNAs, the Fórsa  ballot for public service industrial action and the engagement yesterday between unions and Government on outstanding local bargaining claims.

Elsewhere, the Irish Times reports that Aer Lingus lost €34 million in the six months ended June 30th "as it battled higher fuel costs and increased competition", while public expenditure minister Jack Chambers has published the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2026: "an assessment of public expenditure trends and outlines the expenditure context and approach, ahead of Budget 2027."

In The Irish Times, Margaret E Ward writes about the growing problem of wage inequality: "We are working harder than ever and the data shows workers have never been so productive, but our wages and salaries haven’t matched our efforts for decades," while Emma Jacobs writes in the same paper about how workers are nostalgic for life before artificial intelligence, and that many white-collar professionals "worry about the tech inhibiting creativity and making errors."

Mick Heaney's radio column this week charts the nation's joy for Mayo and it's grief for Glen Hansard in a week that will likely be long remembered.

Glen has formed part of the fabric of the Dublin I've known most of my life. His absence is, and will remain, deeply felt. 

Your Zen this morning is a song I only listened to for the first time yesterday, recorded at Berlin's Funkhaus studio one. Don't Settle.

Have a great weekend, and a lovely August, stay well. The briefing will be back in September.