Health Minister Leo Varadkar talks a lot, both on and off the airwaves, but he isn’t often given to over-excitement. He exudes a calm demeanour amidst the maelstrom of political life.

AS THOSE hoary old dinosaurs of the Irish political theatre, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, continue to play at Civil War politics, while at the same time inching imperceptibly towards a facile minority government, the ship of State continues to drift aimlessly without a firm hand on the tiller. 

HAVING been promised the bee’s knees in terms of high-speed broadband, yesterday’s confirmation of a further two-year delay in rolling out this vital service has dealt a hammer blow to rural communities. 

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a catastrophic incident that killed hundreds and still affects the lives of thousands of people in northern Ukraine, as well as neighbouring Belarus and Russia.

Now that the weekend’s flag-waving and cheers have subsided, it is time to face reality — or whatever high-sugar confection passes for reality among Leinster House politicians intent on squaring the circle to try to form a government. 

A simple reordering of priorities may make our capital city, or at least a segment of it, more attractive to cyclists and encourage more people to use this sensible, healthy and environmentally commendable form of transport.

It’s not even a century since John Alcock and Arthur Brown became the first men to fly across the Atlantic.