The Irish Times reports that the Labour Court has recommended that a 23 strong group of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) drop their objection to carrying out toileting duties for special needs pupils at a Dublin school and now carry out the tasks. In return, the court has recommended the SNAs each receive gift vouchers totalling €650 from Scoil Mochua in Clondalkin, which is attached to the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC), for carrying out the toileting duties. In response to this, Fórsa told the court that the work in question amounts to a change in their terms of employment. . The Irish Examiner and The Journal also carry the story.
RTÉ reports that only 6% of properties are available within Rent Supplement (RS) and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) levels, according to a study by the Simon Community. The 'Locked Out of the Market' snapshot study says that there were 561 properties with no income limits available to rent across the 11 locations researched in August, but just 34 properties were available within RS/HAP.
In other housing news the Government is set to cede power to local authorities by allowing them to build more council houses without having to go through lengthy approval processes.The change in existing laws is being discussed as part of the budget talks between Fianna Fáil and the Government, and is expected to form a significant part of a housing package to be announced next week. It effectively means local authorities will be given greater freedom to build more council houses without going through a process which can take more than 18 months.
SIPTU healthcare workers have overwhelmingly backed a demand for talks on a new public sector pay deal to be brought forward to mid 2019 because of the spiralling cost of living in Ireland in a report by the Irish Times. The union has now been asked to direct the Public Sector Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) to request that the Government and social partners bring talks on a successor to the current pay deal forward to next summer - almost a year earlier than planned..
Our Zen this morning is some archived footage of the civil rights march in Derry on 5th October 1968. This date is often cited as the start of “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland. A planned parade took place to protest at the unfair allocation of houses and jobs, as well as the limited franchise in local government elections.The film was shot by RTÉ camera man Gay O’Brien and the sound recorded by Eamon Hayes.Click here to watch some of the footage.
