Meanwhile, the Tánaiste has said falling case numbers could soon allow for the prospect of a safe reopening of schools on a phased basis. Talks are also continuing this week between the Department of Education, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), and Fórsa on the phased reopening of special education as well.

Banks. Post offices and credit unions have been added to the list of workplaces where the wearing of face coverings is now deemed mandatory. The Minister for Health yesterday changed the regulations governing the wearing of face coverings to include the above to the list of workplaces where it is compulsory, following a campaign by the Financial Services Union (FSU) to have the regulations changed. The new regulations come into force with immediate effect.

A new Garda policy is being introduced which would involve officers who suspect colleagues of having a romantic relationship with a member of the public must inform the new anti-corruption unit of their suspicions. The rules will apply to gardaí as well as civilian staff, and is part of the scope of the new Garda Anti-Corruption Unit (GACU) which has been set up to tackle wrongdoing within the force.

More than one billion euro was spent by consumers using contactless payments in Ireland in December – the highest monthly total ever recorded. Data published today by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows that the total spent by Irish consumers via contactless payments broke the ten-figure mark for the first time last month.

Elsewhere, the Examiner has this piece on how the Government’s newly launched Remote Working Strategy, which makes remote working a permanent option, could help tackle the problem of female 'brain drain' from the workplace.

And lastly, our small nugget of zen today is a geological discovery that is reminding people of a favourite childhood cartoon character. Geologists in Brazil found this incredibly rare volcanic agate rock formation that looks exactly like Cookie Monster on Sesame Street.