The Coalition has been urged to appoint a migration tsar, as an alliance of leading NGOs says the response to refugee crisis is neither ‘fast nor flexible enough’.

More than 7,000 former An Post workers are set for a 6% pension boost, after a Labour Court recommendation allowed for a once off 5% increase to the pensionable pay of members who are yet to retire and pensioners in its scheme.

New Cabinet approval could pave way for thousands of parents to receive childminding subsidies as Minister O’Gorman looks for approval to change the legal status of childminders, enabling the National Childcare Scheme to be opened to more parents.

The Mandate trade union, which represents bar and retail workers, will today tell the Oireachtas Committee on Justice that the proposed Sale of Alcohol Bill must ensure the safety and wellbeing of bar staff as one if its key priorities.

Elsewhere, France was hit by a second day of protests against Macron’s pension reform, while more than 80 people have been killed in a mosque blast in northwestern Pakistan, with a further 150 wounded.

The Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) has raised concern as over 100 dogs are currently on a waiting list to be surrendered to the shelter. The welfare charity says it has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of people surrendering older pets before the Christmas period.

And teachers across England and Wales are going on strike tomorrow after a decade of meagre earnings in a state-funded school system that has seen many take up second jobs or leave the profession altogether. Hundreds of thousands of other workers including rail staff and civil servants will also walk out, making it the UK's biggest day of strikes in several decades when measured by the range of industries it will cover.

An apocalyptic themed zen for you all today - the third episode of the TV show ‘The Last of Us’ aired yesterday, with the Guardian hailing it ‘the single best episode of TV that will be broadcast all year’. A big call, considering it’s still January, we’re only three episodes into this (excellently promising) series.

Here’s a taster of what to expect in the show if you’re considering watching it yourself.