Fórsa’s recent piece on public service employers flouting health rules on workplace attendance is now available to read on the website. The story was also covered widely in The Times, Journal, Rté, Independent and Joe.ie yesterday.

 
Bernard Harbor also went on Kfm radio to speak on the issue, you can listen back here (starts from 1:30), as well as Today FM’s The Last Word yesterday (link isn’t up yet). Bernard will also be appearing on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show just after 10.00am and you can tune in to listen live here.

 
Cabinet yesterday agreed that all passengers arriving into Ireland will need a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before departure. While the Government has yet to formally notify airlines, the new rules will kick in on Saturday.

Health workers who are deemed close contacts, but who are not showing symptoms of Covid-19, have been called back to work in the health service. Health Service Executive Chief Operations Officer Anne O'Connor said the decision was made due to the shortage of healthcare workers. The news comes as pressure on the acute hospital system from Covid-19 continues to increase, with 160 patients now in intensive care.

The Mother and Baby Home report, published yesterday, found that at least 9,000 children died at the institutions. The commission investigating the issue also recommended that a state apology, redress and access to their birth information should be given to survivors of mother and baby homes.

Fine Gael’s parliamentary party has unanimously agreed to readmit three senators who lost the whip over their attendance at the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner last year. The decision was reached at yesterday’s meeting, after a motion for admittance was put down by Varadkar.

Some good news to wrap it up today, the first batch of the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19 arrived into Ireland yesterday afternoon. 

And finally, today’s zen is Elvis Presley’s ‘Suspicious Minds’ which was recorded on this day in 1969, 52 years ago. Enjoy!