Also in the papers today, Martin Wall has this story in the Irish Times about how Gardaí, military, fire and prison service personnel who were employed over the last decade face having to go without a significant proportion of their full pensions for years after they retire. Fórsa is named among the unions included in the launch of a campaign yesterday for the reintroduction of a supplementary pension for these groups.

There's caution from the Minister for FInance as he tells an Oireachtas committee that half the projected corporation tax for this year will be "a windfall in nature" and without it there would be a budget deficit.

The INMO's conference is taking place in Dublin this week, and the nurses union delivers a stark message that the HSE’s recruitment moratorium is having the effect of putting balancing budgets ahead of patient safety. The union said it has no faith in HSE plans to fix staff shortages, with over half its members under pressure to regularly work extra shifts. 

RTÉ reports that mental health concerns caused 22% of worker absenteeism last year. That's based on a new report from HR professional body CIPD, in conjunction with the Kemmy Business School at UL, and marks an increase from a rate of 17% in 2022.

Zen

There was sad news in the world of music yesterday as the untimely death of producer Steve Albini was announced. This obituary captures Albini's deep and lasting legacy: Steve Albini was a button-pushing musician of uncompromising brilliance.  Below, a sample of his work.

Have a great day.

Niall