A reminder that school caretakers will be going on strike for the first time in Ireland, as part of a long-running dispute over a two-tier system of pay and conditions, and will be joining school secretaries in a work stoppage planned for this Wednesday (15th September). Make sure to show your support!  

Amid growing concerns, the CEO of the HSE has said that it may be time to reconsider keeping children out of school if they are deemed a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case but have no symptoms.Paul Reid said today that there has been a surge in demand for testing since children returned to school, with the HSE suspending walk-in testing due to the level of demand.

This after almost half of all Covid tests carried out last week involved children, according to the HSE.

Taoiseach Michaél Martin and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly have both issued stinging rebukes of the decision by management at the Rotunda Hospital to allow filming for a television series to go ahead at the height of Covid restrictions. Our own Linda Kelly, who is also part of the #BetterMaternityCare campaign is also quoted in the piece.

Two opinion polls published this morning found that Sinn Féin is the most popular political party in the country right now.

Elsewhere in the UK, a union leader has said freezing public sector pay and giving NHS workers less than they deserve is “picking the pockets” of the mainly female workforce. 

In aviation, Ryanair warns of 'dramatically higher' flight costs next summer.

And Christmas shoppers are already being advised to buy early this year with supply bottlenecks likely to linger for long, many retailers have warned.

Before signing off, I leave you with this short gem today. New rules in Northern Ireland introduced on Friday mean you can now order at the bar, but you must remain seated whilst drinking inside, so one pub decided on the perfect solution for this problem. All it took was some wheelie tables. 

Have a good week.