Will Goodbody reports for RTÉ that unions have pushed back against complaints from businesses about rising labour costs arising from a series of Government policy changes (minimum/living wage progress, sick leave, pension auto-enrolment etc.) aimed at improving conditions for workers. ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy makes the point that most of the reforms merely bring Ireland into line with EU counterparts.

The Irish Times and Indo carry the same story.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Social Protection sought Cabinet approval yesterday for draft legislation designed to set up the new pension auto-enrolment system. The Irish Times reports that industry observers are "skeptical" that the scheme – aimed at capturing 750,000 workers without pension plans – can be up and running by start of 2025.

Elsewhere, some consumer prices will go up on Monday, as the excise rate on fuel is restored, and in the Irish Times letters page, a correspondent pushes back against the recent editorial and letter writer on public service reform and the new pay agreement.

Believe it or not, at midnight tonight we mark 20 years since the implementation of the smoking ban in Ireland. My thanks to our colleague Mick McLoughlin for reminding me of this significant anniversary, in which the trade unions played a significant role, as this Irish Times article from October 2003 illustrates.

The Irish Heart Foundation says this progressive public health measure saved more than 3,700 lives in Ireland in the first three-and-a-half years after its implementation –  almost 2.7 lives a day – and resulted in an immediate 26% reduction in ischaemic heart disease and a 32% drop in strokes. 

Zen

Your Zen moment this morning celebrates 20 years of the smoke clearing with a little recherché cultural reflection on the practice of smoking. Below, a trailer for Wayne Wang's adaptation of a series of stories by Paul Auster, featuring a stellar cast, including director Jim Jarmusch, in Smoke. Above, a trailer for Jarmusch's episodic off-beat monochrome classic, Coffee and Cigarettes. 

Have a lovely Easter.

Niall