There has been another drop in the number of people ‘signing on’.
3,200 people left the Live Register last month.
But there are still 439,589 people receiving the dole.
It leaves the standardised rate of unemployment at 14.2 %.
That is down slightly from 14.3 per cent in December.
John Stewart is from the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU).
He is cautiously welcoming the news but gives this warning with regard to the decrease.
“That could be as a result of young people deciding to go back into education or training” he said.
“But we also know as well – and particularly in respect of young men – that people in that category may very well be people who might be more likely to make that decision to emigrate” he added.
The Taoiseach says the thousands of staff leaving the public service will test the Croke Park Agreement.
Around 8,000 staff mainly in health and education are leaving at the end of this month to take advantage of better pension perks.
But there are fears frontline services will be hit as a result.
Concern has been especially voiced in the heath sector.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny says the government is determined a crisis will not happen.
“There are 300,000 persons employed in the public sector; 3 percent of these are leaving, 97 percent will remain in situ” he said.
“Clearly the flexibility that is inherent in the Croke Park agreement will now be put to the test”.
“The government have no intention…of allowing a situation where frontline services are not able to be fulfilled” he added.
The Transport Minister has announced the details of a €380 million investment for regional and local roads.
The money will be spent this year and will sustain employment for around 3,800 people.
The investment includes 120 projects under the Specific & Strategic Projects scheme, improvement works on 13 strategic regional roads and more than 200 low-cost safety projects.
Some of the projects include the Old Kinsale Road Bridge in Cork, the Thurles link road in North Tipperary and a footbridge in Fairview in Co. Dublin.
The Technical Group of TDs in the Dáil are to petition the President for a referendum on the new EU Fiscal Treaty if the Attorney-General says there is no legal requirement for one.
The petition will ask President Michael D. Higgins to invoke a never-before-used article of the Constitution.
It is designed to forego any signing of the law of the Bill and to refer it to the Irish people instead.
The group of 16 TDs is made up of the United Left Alliance and Independents.
They are calling on other members of the Oireachtas to support them.
Donegal South-West TD Thomas Pringle is leading the charge on the petition.
He says the government should not be afraid to let the people have their say.
“There’s no doubt that the Irish people can look at the question and consider the question themselves, and arrive at thier own decisions” he said.
“There was two questions put on the same day to the people a number of months ago – and the people voted with the government on one and against the government on the other”.
“So the Irish people are very intelligent, the Irish people know the issues and they’ll be able to debate them themselves and arrive at their own decision” he added.
Scientists could be a step closer to reading our minds.
They have been able to work out what we are listening to by analysing brain waves.
Newstalk’s Jack Quann has more.
