Redundancy payment
Fewer than 1,000 people have applied for the Government's special Covid redundancy payment.
As the Irish Examiner reports, some €455,500 has been paid in the first two months of the scheme which provides workers with financial support from the State.
The scheme was set up to ensure that employees who are let go, who are eligible for a statutory redundancy payment, and who were placed on lay-off due to Covid-19 public health restrictions are not disadvantaged in the calculation of their redundancy entitlements.
The Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Act 2022 allows workers who were laid off due to Covid restrictions between March 13th, 2020 and January 31st, 2022 to apply for the payment, which will be up to €2,268 tax-free.
Michelle O'Neill
Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill has recalled being “prayed over” at the Catholic grammar school she attended when she became pregnant at 16.
While she paid tribute to her form teacher at the time, she said not everyone at St Patrick’s Girls’ Academy in Dungannon, Co Tyrone had been as supportive.
Ms O’Neill also spoke about having had negative experiences with police growing up as the daughter of an ex-republican prisoner.
Inmate death
An inmate who was attacked at Mountjoy Prison last week has died.
The Irish Prison Service said the prisoner was seriously injured in an incident on Friday.
The man, aged in his 30s, died in hospital in the early hours of Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said: “The Irish Prison Service wishes to extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends at this time.
Cork jobs
Medical device firm Stryker, which specialises in 3D printing to treat bone related conditions, is set to create 600 new jobs in Co Cork.
Stryker is hiring the new staff at its plant in Carrigtwohill.
The firm already employs over 4,000 people here at plants in Cork, Limerick and Belfast.
The official opening of the high-tech facility at Anngrove was marked with a visit from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the IDA and other local guests.
The new 156,000 square foot development creates capacity for 600 "high-tech jobs in the future.
Trolley watch
There are 478 patients waiting for beds this morning, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
410 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 68 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.
Galway University Hospital is the most overcrowded this morning with 59 people waiting for beds. University Hospital Limerick is the second most overcrowded with 48 people on trolleys.
Academy Awards
Hit Irish-language film An Cailín Ciúin has been named as Ireland's entry for the 2023 Academy Awards.
The film, written and directed by Colm Bairéad, is based on the book 'Foster' by Claire Keegan. An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) was produced by Cleona Ní Crualaoi.
The film had its premiere at the Berlinale International Film Festival in February and was awarded the Grand Prix Award for Best Film from the Generation Kplus International Jury.
Retail spending
Retail spending in Dublin grew in Q2 despite inflationary pressures.
Spending in the Dublin economy increased for a fifth consecutive quarter in Q2 2022.
The Q2 months are April, May and June.
The latest MasterCard SpendingPulse, produced on behalf of the four Dublin Local Authorities, shows that total retail spending in the Capital increased by 1.6 per cent in the quarter despite rising cost of living challenges.
