As we entered the weekend, Friday's statement by the Public Services Committee of ICTU was picked up by the Irish Times, RTE and the Indo, while Matt Cooper gave the long read treatment to public sector pay talks in the Business Post, which you can access here, and the story is also covered in The Journal.

The DPER minister was also out and on the record over the weekend. In an interview with RTE's This Week programme yesterday (available here and reported by RTE here) he maintained that remaining FEMPI legislation has had “no influence on the industrial relations environment of the last number of years.” Make of that what you will. 

In other news, the Indo reports that information sought by TDs on behalf of patients about waiting lists and other health issues is not being released because of Fórsa's industrial action in the HSE,while Emmet Malone reports in the Irish Times that almost 60% of workplace incidents involving aggression and violence last year were in the health and care sectors.

Elsewhere, reports that the influence of the far right in Ireland is growing as tech companies fail to enforce their own guidelines against misinformation and hate speech, while new regulations require companies with more than 50 workers will have to establish formal channels for whistleblowers to come forward within the next four weeks.

Zen

Your Zen this morning is a news item about one of the best TV shows of recent years. The Bear (available on Disney+), tells the story of Michelin-caliber chef desperately trying to reverse the flagging fortunes of a sandwich shop which he inherited after an unexpected death in his family. Do check it out.

Have a great week.

Niall