The Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said there is a need for a substantial welfare package in October's Budget, along with greater childcare supports and a reduced tax burden on middle-income earners. The Fine Gael leader was speaking at the National Economic Dialogue in Dublin, where interest groups from across society met to discuss the budget.

The one-day think-in, hosted by the Department of Finance in Dublin Castle, also heard Ireland’s economy could be standing on the precipice of a significant, long-term shift in global economic conditions against a backdrop of rising global inflation and slowing growth. 

Ambulance workers’ representatives have said staff numbers should at least double to tackle the current issues facing ambulance workers. Siptu says current staffing levels and workloads are causing burnout and leading to some leaving the sector. 

Elsewhere, 80% of Britain’s train services expected to be cancelled by strike action today, due to the biggest strike by rail workers in 30 years. But Boris Johnson has said he plans to break rail strikes by allowing use of agency workers, a move unions have described as unworkable, unsafe and potentially breaking international law.

More in transport news, low-cost airline EasyJet said today it was cutting thousands more flights this summer after London Gatwick and Amsterdam airports reduced capacity and it battled staff shortages on the ground and in the air.

In other news, the Nobel Peace Prize that Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned off to raise money for Ukraine’s child refugees has sold for 103.5 million dollars, shattering the old record for a Nobel. Previously, the most ever paid for a Nobel Prize medal was in 2014, when James Watson, whose co-discovery of the structure of DNA earned him a Nobel Prize in 1962, sold his medal for 4.76m dollars.

And finally, for the days that’s in it, here is what various global locations get up to on this long summer day.  

Have a good one folks.