RTÉ reports that ICTU's pre-budget submission calls for double indexation of the income tax system, to compensate workers for the absence of a tax package for PAYE workers in last year's budget. Reporting on the ICTU submission, the Irish Examiner reports that Congress has called for a €1 increase in minimum wage.

Elsewhere, the Irish Federation of University Teachers has announced that it will ballot members for industrial action, up to and including strike action, following the Government’s failure to establish a credible basis for negotiations on a new public service pay agreement, while SIPTU members working in a centre that is part of the St John of God group will proceed with strike action on Wednesday after the breakdown of talks at the WRC.

Meanwhile, The Journal Investigates reports that local authorities are collecting thousands of discarded nitrous oxide canisters each year, and are proving to be problematic for the waste industry, with more than 160,000 ending up in waste facilities every year causing problems. One Irish waste facility recorded up to 120 exploding canisters over a recent two-week period.

RTÉ has published this analysis of current Aer Lingus activity by Fahad ibne Masood of TU Dublin. He reports that the airline "currently appears to be cutting jobs with one hand while pushing for Dublin Airport capacity growth with the other" with pressure coming to cut costs from parent company IAG, following first-quarter losses of €103 million: "...more than double the €55 million lost over the same three months last year. The airline points to the closure of its Manchester transatlantic base, higher carbon costs, stiffer North Atlantic competition and rising fuel bills."

The airline also operates in an environment where "the competition has sharpened, fuel is expensive and management jobs are the first thing to give," and says the timing could hardly be worse "as conventional wisdom and the airline's own position says growth follows once the (passenger) cap lifts. Whether that actually happens is still an open question."

In the Irish Times, Emmet Malone reports that the number of professional job vacancies declined by 7.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year and was down almost 10 per cent on the same period in 2025. Malone's analysis piece on the same topic describes Morgan McKinley’s assessment - that the changes in hiring patterns witnessed here in recent months 'do not amount to a downturn' - as "not entirely comforting."

Finally, I recommend reading Hugh Linehan's (always excellent) media column in the Irish Times today. When it comes to public service media, how much is too much?

Your Zen moment this morning complements yesterday's Zen, and was shared with me by our esteemed retired colleague Shay Cody (thanks Shay!). Kronos Quartet's A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall features Anderson and the Godfather of Punk himself, Iggy Pop.

Have a great day.

NS