Scoil Bhride in Cannistown in Navan is one of the schools celebrating SNA Appreciation Day this week, and the Meath Chronicle has the scoop. 

The Parliamentary Budget Office (which is staffed by Fórsa members) has warned the Government that it's at risk of “adding more pressure to an overheating economy” with a budget spending splurge: "This recovery is not without its risks. The domestic side of the economy shows signs of overheating, necessitating a cautious approach in the upcoming budget. Fiscal policy should remain prudent to avoid exacerbating these risks."

In other news, the Department of Justice has said the slimmed-down hate crime Bill will retain special protections for transgender and non-binary people, while the Health Insurance Authority has said Ireland’s health insurance market has grown too complicated and is overwhelming consumers, working against their best interests and seeing many paying over the odds for cover. 

Elsewhere, Fórsa members at Met Éireann are using a new supercomputer to process its weather forecasts, increasing their accuracy and timeliness, while Michael McDowell laments the State's poor record on public procurement, itself a hot political topic these days, and with good reason.

Meanwhile, there has been a surge in cases of migrant workers being exploited, forced to work without breaks or days off, and expected to put in weeks of 70 hours or more, as a recent case of a Nepalese worker in Kerry illustrates. 

Finally, as Fórsa's Health & Welfare division commences the mobilisation of members in response to the effects of the recruitment embargo imposed almost a year ago, Dr John Barton, a retired physician and cardiologist at Portiuncula Hospital, writes in the Irish Times: "Aoife Johnston did not have to die for us to learn that hospital overcrowding causes deaths."

Zen

Your Zen this morning is a hearty movie recommendation. His Three Daughters is on Netflix. It's an intimate family portrait of caring and grieving. Don't let that put you off. The writing and acting are just amazing. Connie Coon (Fargo), Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black / Russian Doll / Poker Face) and Elizabeth Olson (too many credits to list) are incredible. Well worth watching. 

Have a great day.

Niall