Fórsa yesterday secured agreement from the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to regularise the status of school secretaries and caretakers paid through grants with respect to their wages, pensions and conditions of employment. RTÉ and the Times have reported on it here and here. Last month the union had warned that school secretaries would stage several days of strike action to be followed by an indefinite stoppage. The move was averted to allow the union and the Government to hold talks at the Workplace Relations Commission this week.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) is to begin counting the results of its members’ ballot on a range of issues in secondary schools over Covid-19 safety concerns it says have come to the fore since schools reopened. These concerns include physical distancing in schools, provision of PPE, the definition of close contacts, testing turnaround times, provisions for high-risk teachers and IT resources for remote learning.

The Department of Health has said the establishment of a CervicalCheck Tribunal “could not be reversed” despite criticism from representatives of the 221+ Group who had wanted the Tribunal to be paused. More on that here.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is expected to make the case for pre-departure testing in front of the Oireachtas Transport Committee today, deeming it a “safer alternative” to restrictions. The DAA says a strong pre-departure testing regime for both orange and red zone locations would be far more advantageous for Ireland’s recovery than the current situation. Representatives from Ryanair, Aer Lingus as well as the Shannon Group and Rome Airport are also set to appear before the committee today.

Finally, today’s zen marks the day Elvis Presley broke the record for the most No.1 albums by a solo artist. The late singer's album The Wonder Of You beat tough competition and went on to become his 13th album to top the chart. Enjoy!