Remote working
Employers will have at least 13 grounds to refuse an employee's request to work remotely under draft legislation published on Tuesday.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar unveiled plans to give workers the right to request remote working after draft legislation was approved by Cabinet.
He outlined that if the decision not to grant remote working is appealed by the worker, the employer will be required to justify it.
Opposition politicians have called for an all-out right to work remotely, with Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on enterprise Louise O’Reilly saying the legislation should be “more robust” and that no reasonable request from an employee should be refused.
Energy credit
Cabinet are set to discuss plans to give households €100 off their electricity bills by the end of March.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan is to bring a memo to Cabinet on the Electricity Cost (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measure Bill, with the €100 credit being put forward in response to spiralling energy costs.
Under the plans, the credit is to be applied excluding VAT, so the total benefit to the electricity account holder will be €113.50.
Fishermen protest
Irish fishermen are planning to peacefully disrupt plans by the Russian Navy to conduct military exercises off the coast of Cork next month.
Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland the area was very important for fishermen and that they wanted to protect biodiversity and marine life.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar urged the fishermen not to put themselves at risk, adding that as the military exercises are happening outside Ireland’s territorial waters, the State has "no power to prevent them from happening".
Lisa Smith trial
The opening statements have begun in the trial of former Defence Forces member, Lisa Smith.
The Louth woman is charged with an offence contrary to the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 for being a member of unlawful terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) between October 28th, 2015 and December 1st, 2019.
Earlier, a prosecution barrister told the Special Criminal Court Ms Smith was prepared to "die a martyr" and "self-identified as a member" of the illegal terrorist organisation.
Search and Rescue tender
The Department of Transport has confirmed it will amend a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) relating to the procurement process for a new Coast Guard aviation service.
The original PQQ was published on December 20th, referencing "a minimum" of three helicopter bases, however, there are currently four bases around the country - Dublin, Shannon, Sligo and Waterford.
The department has since confirmed the PQQ "will be amended to specify the number and location of Search and Rescue (SAR) bases to reflect the existing configuration," following concerns raised by people in the southeast who feared the Waterford base would be lost.
