Fórsa will today take it's school secretaries campaign to the Oireachtas Education Committee which is hearing evidence on non teaching staff.Read the latest about the campaign on the Fórsa website. Maeve Hurrell spoke about her status as a grant paid school secretary, and our head of Education Andy Pike spoke about taking Fórsa’s #SupportOurSecretaries campaign to the Oireachtas education committee meeting today on RTE’s Morning Ireland. Meanwhile, Paul MacSweeney flew the flag on Radio na Gaeltachta discuss the issue, and Kathleen O’Doherty and Niall Shanahan will be talking about the campaign on Highland Radio at 10:45.

The Indo reports that a number of hospitals have had to enforce rolling theatre closures due to staff shortages. It comes as the HSE has ordered a recruitment freeze for up to three months unless hospital managers outline their costed employment plans. Meanwhile the number of vacant hospital consultant posts across the public health service is heading towards 500. Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association general secretary Martin Varley said that he main cause is the pay difference between consultants appointed prior to and after 2012, where the latter could earn up to €50,000 less than longer-serving colleagues. 

The Times report that Minister for Education Joe McHugh is due to travel to the United Arab Emirates in the coming months to try to convince Irish teachers working in the Middle East to move back to Ireland in an attempt to address teacher shortages here. 

In Brexit news British Prime Minister Theresa May is heading for top-level talks in Berlin and Paris today as she seeks support for another extension. According to reports, Brexit could be delayed by nearly a year under plans being considered by EU officials. Meanwhile, a new study by Future Analytics Consulting says a hard Brexit could add to the population pressures in Dublin, with a potential population increase of 150,000, which would put further pressure on the housing market. 

The Congress April Briefing will take place this Friday and will look at how the community sector and progressive forces within the State were defeated. The Briefing will focus on the role and contribution of working class activism in Dublin. For more information click here.

Our zen this morning is brought to us by Dublin Zoo's brand new baby gorilla. To date, keepers at Dublin Zoo have been unable to determine the gender of the infant as it's mother, Kafi, has been keeping the baby close to her chest since the birth. Click here for more images.