A reader's letter to the Irish Times signals the start of the education conference season this week, and it's reported that the ASTI's membership has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years. Martin Wall writes "Row over salary structure that sees teachers recruited since 2011 receive less is threatening to boil over into full dispute."

In other public service news, it's reported that the Department of Defence is to recommend the reintroduction of a loyalty bonus payment for Air Corps pilots in an attempt to encourage them to remain in the Defence Forces, and primary schoolchildren are to be taught about about sexual consent under a major review of sex education in schools.

And while pay equality will be on all the agendas this week, it's estimated that chief execs in the US are paid about 300 times more than the average worker.

Meanwhile, Congress has made a submission on the future of Dublin Airport, arguing for expansion and reconfiguration of the existing two terminals, rather than the construction of a third.

Elsewhere, escalating commercial rents are putting pressure on some of the more enlightened recession-era initiatives, as Fumbally Exchange struggles to find a new home, while the Dingle pensinsula becomes the testing ground for renewable energy.

With April Fools Day falling in the depths of a bank holiday weekend, the prank news stories weren't quite as much in evidence this year, though given the current anxiety about 'fake news' it's perhaps just as well. Nevertheless, this effort from TheJournal.ie got a chuckle out of me.

Tomorrow, 4th April, marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. I watched Selma for the first time over the weekend, and if you haven't already watched it I'm more than happy to recommend. It's powerful stuff, with absolutely stunning performances throughout.

One of the people who walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Dr King at Selma was John Lewis. If you have a Netflix subscription, I recommend David Letterman's new series of interviews, the first of which is with former US president Barack Obama. As part of the  programme Letterman retraces the walk over the bridge at Selma in the company of Lewis. It's worth watching for their conversation alone.