A €2,000 pay rise for virtually all public sector workers over the next two years is madness, no matter what kind of spin the union bosses want to put on it.
So much irrationality is directed at our civil service, including the dangerous notion of privatisation of functions, that the hard work of many decent people is overlooked.
The Council are set to vote on a motion that could make the local authority one of the first in the country to stop using the Government backed internships.
Cutting costly emissions from thousands of public buildings would help the environment and save Ireland €200m a year – without requiring a single job loss.
Launching new public service reform plans today, the Minister of State Brian Hayes said there has been “a lot done, more to do, to borrow a phrase from the past”.
“The model of social partnership promoted since 1987 relies for its internal cohesion on permitting people at various levels within the system to milk that system for their own benefit.”
Pat King has said the planned action will affect students only “marginally”. Teachers will withdraw from out-of-hours duties including parent and staff meetings from tomorrow week.
TODAY IS THE first day of the Puck Fair, an annual three-day event in Killorglin, Co. Kerry, which is said to be Ireland’s oldest festival.
The festival’s centrepiece is a wild goat, which is caught from the mountains and brought back to the town for the fair, traditionally by a local schoolgirl.
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But animal rights advocates have raised concerns about the event for many years, which includes the tradition of placing the “King Puck” on a 50-foot tall platform for the duration of the three day festival.
This year there are specific concerns about the welfare of the goat amid a hot spell of weather.
A spokesman for the festival has said that if necessary, the animal will be taken down if the heat gets too much and will be given a health check.
So today we’re asking: Have you ever been to the Puck Fair?
Mostly sunny
Max: 25 °C
Min: 14 °C
Partly sunny
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Min: 15 °C
