In health news our own Niall Shanahan spoke to Newstalk about a report that indicated that almost 200 HSE staff had suffered serious physical assaults since January 2018. Read more about that here.

President Michael D Higgins has intervened in a dispute over pay in the Defence Forces, insisting it “should not be too much to expect” that members are paid an income that is sufficient to provide for themselves and their families.

RTE reports that the Operation Yellowhammer document about a no-deal Brexit claims to outline the British government's "reasonable worst-case planning assumptions". The full report is available to view here and explores everything from a hard border in Northern Ireland to a disruption to flow across the short Channel Straits.

Talks to resolve the beef crisis are set to resume, while the establishment of a new body could mean that for the first time farmers rather than factories can set the price at which cattle are sold to meat plants. Meanwhile, SIPTU has called on the Government to establish a taskforce to tackle the worsening crisis in the meat industry which now threatens up to 3,000 jobs.

In news that is out of this world (I do apologise), scientists in the UK have made a discovery on a distant planet that hosts both water and temperatures which could support life.

Our zen this morning is born from the sad news of the passing of Daniel Johnston. The gifted singer-songwriter and visual artist passed away over night. This is one of my favourites.

Have a good day.