Fórsa is quoted in the Irish Times and Irish Examiner's coverage of DPER’s latest Covid-19 FAQ amendment which, unsurprisingly, says public servants must use annual or unpaid leave when they quarantine after non-essential travel. NPHET continues to advise against non-essential overseas trips.

Apple and Ireland have won their appeal against the European Commission's €13.1bn tax ruling as the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) yesterday annulled the decision taken by the Commission regarding the Irish tax rulings in favour of Apple. The Department of Finance welcomed the judgement. 

Meanwhile, the Tánaiste has said government will wait for the result of an appeal on a High Court judgment on the laws underpinning wage agreements before it plans new legislation, and accused Ged Nash TD of 'virtue signalling' after Labour's bill addressing the issue was published.

A bad day for journalism as the BBC has announced plans to reduce its pool of presenters and make further cuts in its news division as around 520 jobs are set to be axed, a further 70 than announced previously as part of plans to “modernise its newsroom." The Guardian made a similar announcement, proposing the loss of up to 180 jobs as the economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the media industry.

ICTU's Executive Council has strongly condemned an emerging “culture of hatred and intolerance” that is fomented by far right groupings in order to target and discredit political opponents and “advance their own divisive agenda.” Congress general secretary Patricia King said there can be no place for such hate-speak in our public life. "It is toxic, undermines free speech and democratic debate and we cannot allow it to take root in our societies, north or south," she concluded. You can read the full statement here.

And finally, today's zen is brought to you by the strange and wonderful world of Twitter where scientists have established what Neanderthals may have sounded like. It isn't what you would expect.