In a deal that the Irish Times says is likely to generate controversy, a departing deputy director general of the HSE is to receive a redundancy package of nearly €400,000 under a recently-finalised and Government-approved deal, while Stephen Bourke's coverage of Unite official Brendan Ogle's WRC case continues in the Irish Times, Indo and RTÉ.

There's a number of WRC stories in this morning's news, including a case in which  security manager was allegedly told by his line manager that he "should go back to his own country" , and a former bouncer failed in an unfair dismissal claim after a tribunal ruled he had not been sacked following an accusation that he had pushed a transgender woman down a flight of stairs. The WRC hearing on the case of the teacher from Templeogue College also continues.

Meanwhile, the aviation business would once again appear to be enjoying rude health as Aer Lingus has today recorded an operating profit of €225m for 2023, an increase of 400% from more than €2bn in revenues, and an increase of €168m on the €57m reported in 2022. Despite selling more seats, the 2023 profits lag slightly behind the airline's 2019 performance, according to the Irish Times.

Aer Lingus's fortunes would appear to reflect developments generally in the world of business, as new research reveals that optimism among businesses is rising amid increased profitability. RTÉ reports that most businesses are expecting staff numbers to remain the same over the next six months, while 42% of larger SMEs are predicting employee growth over the same period.

Finally, RTÉ's Justin McCarthy talks to Irish army personnel in Lebanon about their recent experiences of escalating tensions and conflict in the region.

Zen

Your Zen this morning is a clip from this week's Daily Show with Jon Stewart (the guy from whom I stole the 'moment of Zen') as he pays tribute to his best boy Dipper.

Have a super day.

Niall