Gardaí will now receive quicker monetary payments for injuries received in the line of duty under new legislation. A new Garda Compensation Bill goes to Cabinet tomorrow, aiming to speed up the process whereby an officer can be waiting for up to four years to received financial recognition for the hurt, debility and treatment of harm caused to them in the course of their duty. More on that here. 

The Times reports on Fórsa’s statement that it has pressed the HSE for clear information to be made available to healthcare staff who have received the first dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on the implications of the changes to the vaccination rollout strategy.

Separately, the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said its governing board would be meeting on Thursday to consider the impact of the changes to the vaccination schedule for its members as well as for mental health service users.

A new report about Travellers in the Irish workforce has called for creative pathways to employment to be implemented as four in five Travellers are currently unemployed. The St Stephens Green Trust and Values Lab report, Travellers in the Mainstream Labour Market, notes that 80% of Travellers are unemployed, and the main blockages for members of the community looking for work were ‘micro-aggressions’.

The proposed new Media Commission is expected to have a level of staffing similar to the office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), an Oireachtas committee was told. That would involve approximately 180 staff, including those already working for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, which is to be subsumed into the new regulatory body.

Penalties for employers who intentionally misclassify workers as self-employed, resulting in the loss of PRSI and employment rights entitlements, should be explored by the Department of Social Protection, according to a draft Oireachtas Committee report. The confidential report also recommends exclusion of such employers from government public procurement contracts, targeted inspections, and anti-victimisation legislation for workers caught up in so-called "bogus self-employment."
 
In other news, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor that they say is the "largest" ever found in Egypt and dates back to a golden age of the pharaohs 3,000 years ago.

And finally, our zen this morning is David Bowie’s 'Starman' which was released on this day in 1972, only 49 years ago, and became his first hit since 1969's 'Space Oddity' three years before. The lyrics describe Ziggy Stardust bringing a message of hope to Earth's youth through the radio, salvation by an alien 'Starman'. Enjoy!