Good morning colleagues, and happy Mother's Day to all the mammies.

In these strange and exceptional times we decided to do a quick summary of relevant news stories from today's papers and publish directly into the Fórsa staff WhatsApp group.

Here's a snapshot of the front pages on Sunday 22nd March.

Yesterday health authorities confirmed 102 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total in the Republic of Ireland to 785, and 893 cases on the island overall. Slowing down the virus by observing social distancing remains the priority focus.

DCU economics lecturer Tony Foley said yesterday the final job loss total will far exceed the peak reached during the last economic crisis. The government has acknowledged that the €203 per week pandemic unemployment payment scheme is likely to be insufficient for many people and are moving to revise it to make "a much more substantial response," according to the social protection minister.

In a new blog published by the Nevin Economic Research Institute yesterday, Dr Tom McDonnell writes: Only a massive state intervention can prevent deep recession. "The immediate economic priority should be to prevent large scale job losses and a destruction of the economy’s productive capacity. Achieving this goal will necessitate large-scale supports for small businesses and manufacturers to cover their wages and maintenance costs for the periods when they are shut down due to Covid-19. Representatives of employers, employees and government should come together to work out the appropriate firm and sector specific details."

Yesterday Kevin Callinan also emphasised the need for real social dialogue in order to address the huge challenges we're facing, citing the Danish tripartite agreement struck last week to create greater security for employees.

NS

Sunday papers

You know it’s a funny kind of crisis when Colm ‘anger is not a policy’ McCarthy advocates temporary wage subsidies in his Sindo piece. You can almost feel his pain as he sneaks in a call for “safeguards against an outbreak of corporate welfare.” He clearly read the room and didn’t like a word of it. There’s also a peek behind the Mater hospital’s “war on Covid-19”. Meanwhile, the Observer carries a coronavirus poem from the fantastic Simon Armitage and a feast of Nick Cave juvenilia - BH.

The front page of the Business Post reports the cost of extra economic support could rise to more than €15 billion, and reports that the government is looking at plans to employ 20,000 laid-off childcare workers to look after the children of 'frontline' health service staff. There's also an interesting full page ad placed on page 5 by Grid Finances, calling for support for small business. In the footer they thank public servants "for protecting and defending us at this time." Elsewhere in the Post there's comment and analysis focusing on the need for large-scale state intervention to protect and rebuild the economy and more on public health. The Sunday Times, meanwhile, reports that the state is "set to pay 75% of wages for virus-hit jobs" (subscription required): "Paschal Donohoe, the finance minister, is studying a wage subsidy scheme launched in Denmark on March 14 where the state reimburses companies 75% of the wages of workers who would otherwise be laid off, up to a cap of about 23,000 Danish kroner (€3,000) per month. The Danish scheme applies only to employees of private firms that face more than 50 job losses or redundancies of up to 30% of the workforce." - NS

The Irish Mail on Sunday leads with pleas for stricter quarantine measures as the number of C19 cases grows. Meanwhile, consultants in Ireland’s maternity hospitals have confirmed that isolation beds are in-situ for pregnant women who develop the virus. This issue also features an eight-page bumper puzzle pull-out for those in need of some quarantine mental stimulation. - RMcK

My biggest takeaway from the Sunday World is that the drugs gangs are really struggling with the reduction of both supply and demand. A piece on page 15 explains how people who’ve lost their jobs as a result of the Coronavirus will have a special payment fast tracked in a bid to ‘soften the huge blow’ to the economy as an expected 500,000 people are set to be unemployed for a number of months. The SW also has an article with domestic violence experts, including Women’s Aid CEO Sarah Benson, warning that  incidents will soar as families are forced to isolate together in their homes. Finally, in case the government and HSE warnings weren’t hitting home hard enough for you, Daniel O’Donnell has implored everyone to stay inside. - HG

Zen

If you're looking for a decent film to watch today, the Irish supernatural horror comedy Extra Ordinary is now available on Netflix. I watched it last night and it's quirky, dark and funny, which seems just about right for now. Enjoy your Sunday and thanks to all the team for trawling the papers this morning. - NS