A system capable of sending emergency public warnings to mobile phones is set to take a step forward.
Minister for Communications Patrick O'Donovan will seek Cabinet approval to procure the services to establish a cell broadcast public warning system.
The Office of Emergency Planning will oversee the system, which will be used to notify the public of extreme weather events.
This technology is already widely used in other countries and it could be up and running here next year.
It allows for localised alerts based on mast locations and is not affected by network capacity, congestion or character limits.
Once the technical operation is nailed down, telecommunications operators will then have to make it part of their systems.
The Government views this technology as another key channel to provide information to the public alongside television, radio and social media.
Govt set to support FAI in Women's Champions League final bid
Minister O'Donovan will also ask the Government to support the FAI in potentially bidding to host the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in Dublin in 2029.
Ireland is one of four countries interested in hosting, along with Wales, France and Switzerland.
Ireland has a strong track record of hosting European finals at the Aviva Stadium with two previous UEFA Europa League Finals having taken place there.
The FAI believes that the Irish bid stands a good chance of being successful.
Proposal for mandatory use of gender pay gap portal
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley is bringing a memo to the Cabinet to make it mandatory for employers to use the new gender pay gap reporting portal.
Every organisation in Ireland with over 50 employees is legally obliged to report their gender pay gap but they can do this by publishing the reports on their individual websites.
The new amendments to the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 will make it mandatory for these employers to report to the State’s new gender pay reporting portal from 1 November this year.
The portal is already in operation for employers to use voluntarily.
The portal will be fully searchable by members of the public.
Maximum fee cap to be announced for childcare
Minister Foley will also announce details of the new maximum fee cap for early learning and childcare services.
This will lower the maximum fees that can be charged by new and existing early years services receiving Core Funding from the State.
It is set to reduce childcare costs for some parents by hundreds of euro each year.
It will be focused on services charging the highest fees and will come into effect in September.
It will be accompanied by government funding of over €480 million for more than 4,600 early years providers in the State's core funding scheme.
The current weekly cap for a full-day childcare place of between 40 to 50 hours per week is €295.
Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary will update the Government on the Holiday Hunger Initiative.
It will support over 42,000 children most at risk of educational disadvantage.
A pilot project which ran last summer highlighted the importance of providing meals during the school holidays and Minister Calleary is now looking to extend scheme.
The Department of Social Protection is also set to announce details of this year's back to school clothing and footwear allowance.
The allowance will cover two and three year olds for this first time.
