Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil should try to form a government with each other and that Fine Gael is prepared to go into opposition. Speaking after a six-hour meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Mr Varadkar did not rule out Fine Gael entering government with Fianna Fáil, but added: “I don’t foresee that happening.”

Meanwhile, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy is considering standing for the post of Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil as party sources said they are unlikely to enter government.

Congress Social Policy Office Dr. Laura Bambrick shares some of the findings of a recent Congress survey of trade union members’ experience of sexual harassment at work in this piece.

The Times report that more than 90 per cent of Bank of Ireland’s 10,400-strong workforce are set to benefit from an average 2.95 per cent pay increase that has been agreed with the Financial Services Union. Members will ballot on the proposals between February 19th and March 4th.

Staff at the GP out-of-hours services across Cork and Kerry are to strike on Friday. SIPTU sent a letter to SouthDoc’s HR manager last week informing them of the decision to enter into a 24-hour work stoppage on February 21. In the letter, the union said the strike stems from its “member’s legitimate claim for pay restoration”.

A Magdalene survivor, who says she has been denied justice by the State for over 20 years, is taking her case to the United Nations. The UN Committee Against Torture has begun an investigation into the State’s treatment of Elizabeth Coppin which could have implications for the State’s approach to historical abuse.

Students at UCD are to protest this morning over a rent hike in on-campus student accommodation. The price of housing at the south Dublin university is to rise by 4% each year over the next three years. Students’ Union President Joanna Siewierska says the increases should be scrapped.

Kitchens, crèches, gyms and free car parking spaces are of importance to Irish office workers, according to the new Future of Work survey from Fine Grain Property. Matt Cooper delved into this research on The Last Word yesterday evening. Listen to that here.

Elsewhere, workers at a Belfast bakery are to vote on a new pay offer from company bosses after a strike which had threatened supplies of pancakes on Pancake Tuesday. Bakers at Allied Bakeries in east Belfast had walked out on Sunday in a row over a 3pc pay claim. The industrial action came ahead of one of the most important days of the year for the baking trade.

And finally, Andrew Weatherall, the British musician, DJ and record producer known for helming Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, has died aged 56. As well as producing Screamadelica, he was acclaimed for his work as a DJ on Happy Mondays' Hallelujah and New Order's World In Motion Our zen this morning is a nod to him. Nothing like a bit of Primal Scream to get you going in the morning.