The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet this morning to review the latest trends in the spread of the coronavirus, and further consider what guidance might be issued regarding the role of the voluntary wearing of masks for the general public in protecting against the spread of Covid-19. Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said there is cause for concern that some people believe the worst of the coronavirus is behind us. New research shows that 43% of people believe that the worst is over, and Dr Holahan said this causes a challenge in getting the message out. 

The HSE has appointed an independent investigator to examine allegations made by a healthcare worker of shortcomings at St Mary’s Hospital nursing home in response to Covid-19.

The employers' group Ibec has launched a recovery plan for the economy which calls for a future government to commit a further €15bn in supports and investments. The plan calls for the economic and fiscal response to the Covid-19 crisis to match the scale of the downturn it will create. Amongst other measures, it calls for debt write-offs for businesses, cash grants for social-distancing investments, extended exemptions from commercial rates and the return of the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector. Read more here.

The Examiner is critical of the manner in which both children with special education needs and SNAs have been treated in this piece. 

The chief executive of Aer Lingus’s parent company IAG, has said the group is currently receiving no revenue, that it will take at least three years for demand to return to 2019 levels, and that government restrictions are only making matters worse. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus will hold talks with trade unions today on the airline’s plans to cut what some speculate could be around 900 jobs. Read more on that here.

Elsewhere, Ryanair is to resume operating up to 40% of its normal flight schedule from July 1. The move is subject to restrictions on flights between EU countries being lifted and public health measures being put in place in airports. In total the airline says it will run nearly 1,000 flights across 90% of the network it was operating prior to the Covid-19 crisis beginning.

The Times reports that former Irish Debenhams workers, who are campaigning to be paid redundancy payments following their own lay-off last month, have raised money to help 69 Bangladeshi employees left stranded by the company’s cutbacks.

Rents fell 2% in April as the number of homes to let rose sharply according to a report by Daft.ie

Irish Water is appealing to people to conserve water when they can following a significant upsurge in usage since the imposition of Covid-19 restrictions. It said treatment plants are already working to their maximum capacity, and domestic metering data shows that households are using an additional 24 litres of water per person per day.

And finally for our Zen. Andrew Cotter is back with this gem. 

Have a good day folks.