Fórsa said that a mid-summer Government deadline for completing talks on the transfer of 3,000 local authority water services' personnel to the Irish Water utility is "wildly optimistic", and could increase the risk of industrial action, as reported by RTÉ. While Siptu told the local government minister that union members will fight any attempt to force the transfer of their employment with local authorities to Irish Water.

The head of the HSE has admitted reducing waiting lists so patients can access treatment postponed during the pandemic will be a “significant issue” this year, as unprecedented funding allocated by Government will provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change how healthcare is delivered in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Government has been called on to scrap its new affordable housing scheme as officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Economic and Social Research Institute, and the Central Bank have all warned it will actually push up house prices.

Bank workers are urging the Government to go further in giving workers the ‘right to disconnect’ from out-of-hours contact from their employers through smartphones and other devices.

Elsewhere, "Better laws around work of equal value" are what's needed to close the gender pay gap, according to ETUC's Esther Lynch, who is quoted in this article on how publishing salaries will reduce gender inequality. 

And finally, on what would have been George Harrison's 78th birthday, here's the 50th anniversary mix of his classic solo album, All Things Must Pass.