The Communications Unit published a full set of divisional bulletins on Friday (20th January). You can access them here: 

• Civil Service
• Education
• Health & Welfare
• Local Authorities  / Muno
• Services & Enterprises

All of the bulletins lead with this message to members from the general secretary.

Featured in Friday's Health & Welfare bulletin was this piece about the new health circular giving effect to revised pay scales and new senior posts for hospital pharmacists, which was reported by IRN and also featured in Saturday's edition of the Irish Times, with comment from Fórsa.

In our Local Authorities bulletin, Richy Carrothers provides an update on developments in Irish Water, as a new 'master' agreement is in development and transfers from local authorities to the national utility begin next month. In the Indo today it's reported that Siptu members have threatened to withdraw their cooperation from the process.

The Business Post reports that the HSE’s former head of digital transformation, who resigned last weekend, has said that “bad actors” and “blockers” need to be removed before the “crisis” in the health service can end. The same paper carries a response from the interim chief executive of the HSE, who says “there’s two sides to every story.” 

The news that Google's parent company, Alphabet, is to shed 12,000 jobs (6% of its global workforce) adds to growing instability and uncertainty in the tech sector, and follows global job losses at Microsoft (10,000), Amazon (18,000), in addition to Facebook owner Meta, Twitter, and payments firm Stripe.

How this might affect Google's 7,000 Irish employees remains to be seen, but the wider economic picture has prompted a very gloomy outlook by officials at the Department of Finance.

One of the most dynamic, challenging and brilliant teachers I've ever known passed away at the weekend. Fr Micheál MacGréil, sociologist and the author of Prejudice And Tolerance in Ireland, was at the forefront of the drive for overcoming prejudice and driving social change in Ireland. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Elsewhere, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is conducting research on public attitudes toward refugees and other migrants in European countries, including Ireland. It says the cost-of-living crisis, an “unprecedented” housing crisis and major increases in immigration over the past year could lead to “worsening public attitudes” towards migrants and refugees in Ireland.

Meanwhile, RTE picked up Fórsa's statement of solidarity with refugees and communities last week.

Zen

At some point between lockdowns in 2020, at a socially-distanced outdoor shebeen in the back lanes of our estate, neighbours were talking about how much they were missing live music. We swapped stories about the best gigs we'd seen in the "before times" and one of our number waxed lyrical about The Murder Capital, a band I'd never heard of. I was officially intrigued.

Well, the boys have been busy since and have just released their second album Gigi's Recovery. While hailing from all over the country (the Irish Examiner leads with "Cork-led band back with killer second album"...ah Cork, never change lads), the band met at the same music college in Francis Street (BIMM) where Fontaines DC were formed.

Anyway, here's a taste and that's your Zen. Have a great week.