The Journal.ie this morning runs with a report about the background to the proposed ballot for industrial action by Fórsa's School Secretaries branch.

The Irish Examiner reports that the Full Capacity Protocol (FCP), the most drastic action or “last resort” available to hospitals when dealing with emergency department overcrowding, has already been deployed 1,600 times this year, and is being used by some hospitals on an almost daily basis. In other health news, the HSE has 'stood down' its campaign to attract Irish nurses home. The Bring Them Home campaign brought 120 nurses back since July 2015. The Sindo, meanwhile, had Gene Kerrigan making the case to 'Stop guilt-tripping the hospital workers', and provides an anatomical overview of an industrial dispute.

The Sunday Business Post reported yesterday that Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is set to face further demands to open talks on a new public sector pay agreement after a €10 million pay deal for the Defence Forces.

The same paper led yesterday with a report that Eir has accused the government of overestimating the number of homes that would have to pay hundreds of euro for high-speed internet under its alternative National Broadband Plan. The remainder of that story is available to view here. It's reported this morning that the Eir alternative plan looks set to be rejected by the State.

There's more Business Post analysis of Paschal Donohoe's budget options, plus an analysis of the new HSE chief's approach to managing the health system's budget. Both are available from the Communications Unit upon request.

In other news over the weekend there was another piece by Michael Clifford in The Irish Examiner about the case of Lynn Margiotta, who was arrested and prosecuted for allegedly producing fake sick notes to Garda management. The case against Ms Margiotta collapsed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last March. Clifford was recently in touch with Fórsa about the case, as part of his continuing coverage of the issue, and this news item includes the union's response to a number of his questions about it.

In other news today, government ministers have decided against major changes in the local property tax regime, Ireland may vote against the EU trade deal with South American countries, and it's reported that Ryanair has failed in its High Court bid to have a tax law, which it claims effectively double taxes for most of its pilots, referred to the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ).

As Bernard reported last Friday, a Tusla board member, Prof Áine Hyland, has resigned over the child and family agency's lack of interest in education. Head of our Education division Andy Pike's letter in The Irish Times on Saturday responds to that news. Andy writes that Hyland's resignation underlines Fórsa’s longstanding concerns regarding the ability of Tusla to fund and develop the national School Completion Programme (SCP).

Elsewhere last Friday, Congress led a picket of construction workers at the new National Children’s Hospital  as part of a protest prompted by claims a subcontactor on site is employing workers on “bogus self-employment contracts”.

Your Zen this morning is a song I picked up from the weekend's coverage of Glastonbury. Unusually for me I was listening on the radio rather than watching on the telly. I heard an interview with the legendary Mavis Staples (pictured above, I heartily recommend her new album We Get By. It's a soulful, gospel-infused blues album) and a selection of songs from this octogenarian's Glastonbury set. This one in particular stirred the senses, and features the brilliant Ben Harper. Enjoy.