As I mentioned in Friday's briefing, Kevin Callinan made an address to the retired parliamentarians group on Friday. Kevin told the group that migrant workers are vital to health and welfare services, and that they must be protected from discrimination. He also examined the low rate of migrant worker entry into the wider public service, and said public appointments must reflect the diversity of communities they serve.

The story was picked up by RTÉ and the Dublin People, and Kevin spoke to RTÉ's Drivetime programme on Friday afternoon. You can listen back here (from 17:05).

Elsewhere, Petula Martyn's business column, on the RTÉ website, looks at the push by business groups to slow the roll out of statutory sick leave plans, and asks "can the Government justify pausing sick pay laws which were introduced after the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the inadequacy of sick leave entitlements?"

Finally, Martin Wall (Irish Times) reports on the content of a new report that says large increases in healthcare funding and staffing in recent years has not been matched by a similar level of rising activity in Ireland’s hospitals.

Zen

Your Zen moment today is drawn from a story in the Irish Examiner last week, reporting that one of Europe’s largest modern art museums had fired a member of staff after they discovered he'd hung one of his own paintings (above) in the gallery. 

The Pinakothek in Munich holds one of Europe’s largest collections of modern and contemporary art. The rogue artist had added his work to an exhibition called Glitch: On the Art of Interference, the aim of which, according to the catalogue, was to “uncover normative orders and sociopolitical disparities” and “make visible what is invisible.”

So you can see why he did it. More on that here.

Have a splendid week.

Niall