Further to yesterday's reports - about health unions' disappointment at the absence of any proposals from the HSE at the WRC on Tuesday to recognise health worker efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic - Taoiseach Michael Martin has confirmed that the Government is actively considering a bonus for health workers in recognition of their pandemic work. He told the Dáil yesterday that the form of a State gesture is being considered.

The Irish Times reports that the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill has been passed by the Dáil following passage earlier this week by the Seanad and now goes to the President for consideration and signature. Meanwhile Dr Mike Ryan of the WHO has warned that Ireland, and other countries, are “underestimating” a “tsunami of mental health issues that are emerging” as the pandemic continues.

Back to housing again, and new CSO figures show that Irish parents are generally happier to live with their adult children than their children are to live with them, and more content to see them stay. The CSO’s first ever Pulse Survey – Life at Home 2021 – provides 'substantial insights' into some of the realities of adult children moving back in with their parents to save for a home of their own. 

Zen

Today's Zen has, I confess, swept me off my feet.

I've spent the last 16 months wondering what kind of film would eventually draw me back to the cinema when it was safe to do so. Well, I found it. A new film looks at the lives of a community in the Italian region of Piedmont, and the search for the treasure that sustains them, the white truffle.

The Truffle Hunters is a film full of "bracing landscapes and chiaroscuro interiors" designed to teach people “how to see again.” It looks and sounds like a tonic for the soul. Truly Zen-like. Tickets booked. I can't wait.

Vai Italia!