THE scale of change — reform — announced by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan yesterday afternoon is unprecedented in the history of the force. It is welcome and overdue and will, hopefully, make a significant contribution towards rebuilding the organisation’s essential credibility.

BEING kidnapped at gunpoint is far more dramatic and terrifying than being kidnapped by malign forces on social media but the nicety of that differentiation will offer little enough comfort to the parents of London schoolgirls Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, who have, it is reasonably believed, reached the IS-controlled Syrian town of Tal Abyad with the intention of joining the terrorist organisation. What their future holds can only be a matter of the gravest speculation.

IN a world that seems increasingly volatile, it is reassuring that the EU has decided to try to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

VERY many Irish people, especially those who work for the company, have an emotional attachment to Aer Lingus that may cloud business decisions inappropriately.

WHETHER or not Greece makes the best use of the deal sanctioned, in the broadest terms at least, by the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund remains to be seen but it is certain that the country, its newly elected government and its embattled and often demeaned population will not have too many more plausible opportunities to bring some sort of stability to their society and their economy.

IT is a truism that if you can afford good healthcare you, in the majority of cases at least, live longer than those who cannot. 

IT is an indication of the grip Islamic zealots have exerted on the popular imagination that the first reaction to the tragic shooting dead of nine people in the Czech Republic yesterday afternoon was to wonder if this latest outrage was another in a series of deadly attacks carried out by fundamentalists across the western world.

LAST October, Ryanair released their passenger figures for the summer period from April to September. 

BALLYHEIGUE in Co Kerry is one of the most scenically beautiful parts of Ireland. 

THE decision by Bus Éireann to axe almost 100 routes on its Expressway service is an indication of just how vulnerable the people of rural Ireland are when it comes to transport infrastructure. Fifteen towns and villages will be left without a direct link to Dublin in a move that Bus Éireann is blaming on low passenger numbers.