A new €75 million childcare package has been unveiled by the Government. It contains four elements including one-off reopening grants, a once-off capital grant, the continuation of the temporary wage subsidy scheme until the end of August, and the availability of universal and targeted subsidies for parents. However, the plan has been criticised saying it does nothing to address the pre-Covid issues in the sector and these vital services should be reopened earlier on June 29th.

The Taoiseach has said the Government is stockpiling PPE in anticipation of a future second wave of Covid-19 as a spike in coronavirus cases, or indeed another type of virus is possible. He also said face coverings are not “a magic shield” and that the Government will be undertaking a public information campaign on the correct way to wear them and the importance of continuing good hand hygiene.

Regional flights from Ireland's three main airports to destinations across the UK will resume on a phased basis from July 14th. Stobart Air, the operator of Aer Lingus regional routes will resume services with enhanced health and safety measures from Dublin to Edinburgh and Glasgow from the middle of July with most other services resuming from the beginning of August.

Elsewhere in aviation, Shane Ross has officially announced the new expert taskforce to examine and make recommendations on what needs to be done to get Irish airlines back up again and working as a driver of economic recovery. Membership of the taskforce includes various airline CEOs, industry experts and ICTU's Patricia King.

Meanwhile, State-owned transport group CIÉ faces a partial setback in efforts to tackle a near €550 million pension shortfall after workers backed proposals to repair one plan, but rejected mooted reforms for another. 83 per cent of 3,800 workers accepted proposed changes to the group’s regular wages scheme, however 70 per cent of 1,160 staff who are members of the 1951 superannuation scheme voted against proposed changes to that retirement plan.

It's been reported that Premiership players could go on strike over contractual issues arising from the reduction of next season’s salary cap by more than 20 per cent. Premiership Rugby has confirmed clubs unanimously voted to cut the cap on senior wage bills from a whopping £6.4million down to just £5million from the start of the 2021-22 season before being restored to current levels by the 2024-25 season at the latest.

Meanwhile over in Scotland the government's draft budget for the coming year includes funds to study the idea of setting up a "citizen's income". This BBC article explains the notion of a universal basic income and how it would work in Scotland. 

And finally, today's zen is a Twitter thread I recently encountered whereby a student of fine arts contacted every MP back in 2003 asking them their favourite joke as part of a fake anti-apathy campaign. Here's one to start you off, 'a man walks into a pub carrying a large piece of tarmac and says to the barman, "I'll have a pint of beer please... and one for the road."' - Tony Blair, PM.