The number of contacts to Childline surpassed 70,000 during the three months of lock-down, with domestic abuse, self-harm, suicide and Covid-19 anxiety some of the most common issues raised. A total of 72,701 calls, texts and online messages were sent by children during the period 15 March to 28 June. John Church, the chief executive of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children warned that the lockdown could be a frightening time for many children.

Construction unions are to carry out a "protective" ballot for industrial action, up to and including strike action, in case any employers attempt to reduce pay and conditions following last week's High Court ruling that legislation underpinning sectoral wage-setting mechanisms was unconstitutional.

Concerns have been raised over HSE proposals to move staff from CAMHS and primary care services in one healthcare area to tackle a backlog of assessment of need (AON) cases, with fears that it will leave some vulnerable people short of therapy. The Examiner reports on it here.

Ryanair's CEO has defended the airline’s decision to ramp up its summer flight schedule from today, with more than 1,000 flights per day to be operated by Ryanair, which has run a skeleton schedule since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the Irish government is still advising against people taking non-essential flights out of the country and chief medical officer Dr. Tony Holohan has urged people to cancel holiday plans if they have them.

Temporary government payments for extra Covid-19 nursing home costs have been extended, health minister Stephen Donnelly said. The scheme was due to close Tuesday, but will now include July, August and September.

Over 30% of all plastic exported from Europe may not be recycled, according to a new Irish study. The study quantifies something that has long been a concern for environmentalists – that much of the waste exported isn’t recycled at all.

SINN FÉIN has called on Irish banks not to implement a ‘de-facto ban’ on mortgage approval for customers who are being paid through the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. A number of mortgage applicants who had received approval before the Covid-19 crisis have had this approval pulled, despite many earning the same now as they were before the pandemic.

The Guardian has compiled a list of some of the best theatre and dance performances, including live-streams of new shows and viewings of classics from the archives, and how to book your virtual seats for it. You can check that out here. 

Lastly, I recently discovered that social distancing salsa dancing is a thing through this video on twitter, so decided to feature it as today’s zen as well. Enjoy!