Fórsa's national executive put its support behind the new public service pay deal yesterday, and information meetings will get underway next week, with Fórsa's ballot expected to commence on 19th February. That story is picked up in the Indo, the Irish Times and RTÉ.

RTÉ has picked up on that Irish Times story from the weekend, about charities expressing concern that Government funding will not be adequate to cover the pay deal last year that averted the planned industrial action in the community and voluntary sector. 

Tusla has said, according to internal documents, that it might have to consider a recruitment freeze and cuts to services supporting at-risk children if it did not secure more State funding. That Irish Times story reports that Tusla told the Government it was carrying a significant “structural deficit” in its funding during negotiations for more resources in the run-up to the budget last October. 

However, our own engagements with Tusla have recently been more positive. Fórsa officials met with Tusla last Friday and secured agreement on implementing the career progression for HSCPs. Tusla has departmental sanction to do it and last week's discussion was about agreeing how the process would roll out.

This week Fórsa officials discussed emergency placements for children, where they discussed plans to tackle that too. More on that in next week's news bulletins.

Elsewhere, the Irish News reports that transport strikes planned for Thursday look set to go ahead despite the DUP’s deal to restore Stormont, and Donegal County Council is set to go 'flat out' on a new recruitment campaign for retained firefighters this week.

Meanwhile, the Secret Teacher writes in the Irish Times about how many in the profession have been "seduced" by AI technology "and wonder how they ever managed without it."

In economic news, the IMF has said the global economy is on track for a “soft landing” as steady growth and moderating inflation boost financial conditions and permit “real incomes to recover.”  

Zen

As St Brigid's weekend, the feast of Imbolc, approaches and we emerge back into the light of spring, I've jumped back into listening to Oxn's beautifully haunting, mystical album Cyrm to provide the soundtrack. Their version of Scott Walker's Farmer In the City is particularly good.

Have a lovely day.

Niall