The Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) has told an Oireachtas committee that the Irish Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection need to approach their investigations into the status of Irish airlines’ contractor pilots “with the same focus and intensity as the authorities in Germany and the UK.”

A long-awaited circular on a facility for the purchase and transfer of retirement benefits for members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme has been released by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).

The battle for decent work “is a defining battle of our times,” according to Michael D Higgins. Speaking at the five-yearly congress of the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), which took place in Dublin earlier this month, the Irish President applauded the role of trade unions in upholding the “hard-won rights of workers across Europe as we continue to face the challenges and obstacles to a fairer society.”

Climate change is the biggest challenge facing public services, which will be at the centre of the national and international response to global warming in the coming years, according to Fórsa.

The standard domestic subsistence ‘day rates’ paid to civil servants who are out of the office on business are to increase by 10% from Monday (1st July).