Irish woman and former Irish Congress of Trade Unions official, Esther Lynch has been elected General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is expected to tell the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection today that the Government's new auto-enrolment pension scheme should include young and low-paid employees as well as sole traders. More on that here.

A new public-only consultant contract to be approved by Cabinet today will see senior doctors paid between €209,915 and €252,150 a year and have them work Saturdays for the first time.

Meanwhile, the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) has criticised proposals being considered to suspend career breaks for teachers. An incorporeal Cabinet meeting heard the suspension of non-statutory leave like career breaks is being considered as it places pressure on substitution teacher availability.

The Irish Times picked up on the results of the Irish four-day working week trial, calling it an 'idea worth examining in the context of flexible working arrangements post-Covid.’

A new short-term let register is set to be approved by government today with expectations that it could bring some 12,000 properties back into long-term use. Properties advertised for short-term letting via online platforms, such as Airbnb, will be obliged to have a valid registration number with Fáilte Ireland.

And Ireland is preparing for cold weather this week as temperatures as low as -4 degrees and possible snow are forecast from this evening.

Finally, Carl Douglas started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Kung Fu Fighting' on this day in 1974. The song which was recorded in 10 minutes, had started out as a B-side and went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.