The Taoiseach is scheduled to meet Mandate trade union this week in a bid to iron out the long-running Debenhams dispute. Micheál Martin acknowledged the protesting workers were “not being treated fairly”, resolving the situation was complicated, with potentially far-reaching implications for company law, he said.

SIPTU members at the daa, which manages Dublin and Cork Airports, have warned of a challenging industrial relations environment ahead as a row has broken out about redundancies and work practice reforms. The dispute involving operatives including cleaners and trolley staff centres on the daa's demand earlier this year for between 750 and 1,000 voluntary redundancies to secure savings.

The HSE has in recent days issued a formal letter to senior hospital and health service management on the arrangements following agreement with the Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure, to reinstate annual leave for healthcare staff who had to use their holidays to mind children when schools and crèches were closed earlier this year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Government has indicated that it will not engage in talks on pay at this stage with medical laboratory scientists, who include personnel involved in testing for Covid-19. Talks on a long-standing claim by medical laboratory scientists for pay parity with scientific personnel working in biochemistry laboratories took place at the Workplace Relations Commission on Tuesday. But it is understood that while Government negotiators were prepared to discuss issues such as grading and career progression, they were not prepared to engage on pay issues at this point.

A proposal to extend the school Christmas holidays by two days in recognition of the “exhaustion in the system” has been ruled out for now by the Minister for Education. Meanwhile, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland has said that “serious consideration” should be given to closing schools for the Christmas break on the afternoon of Friday 18 December rather than on Tuesday 22 December.

Dublin Zoo has warned that it may have to close permanently because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The facility is closed to the public because of coronavirus restrictions but must still meet the cost of feeding and upkeep of the animals, which runs to about €500,000 a month. The zoo has today announced the launch of the 'Save Dublin Zoo' fundraising campaign, appealing to the Irish public for help.

On this day over 40 years ago, Billy Joel went to No.1 on the US album chart with his sixth studio album, '52nd Street'. Our zen is today is one of the best tracks from the album, which played a big part in helping Joel win the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year. Enjoy!