Considering that our future is so dependant on the so-called ‘knowledge economy’, it is worrying in the extreme to learn that most Irish universities have fallen dramatically in the latest international third-level rankings.

Forget for a moment concerns about CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Humanity’s relentless advancement has caused devastation right here on earth, with global wildlife populations being halved in 40 years.

The revelation that one in five members of our Defence Forces is living below the poverty line is a damning indictment of what we, as a nation, hold dear.

The popular perception that child sex abusers are predominantly paedophile Catholic priests or dirty old men in raincoats has been challenged by a leading charity that counsels victims and treats perpetrators.

The way in which Paul McGinley conducted his role as Europe’s Ryder Cup leader should be studied and emulated by every CEO, senior manager, and politician in the country — including Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Even if you are a parent of an extremely rebellious teenager it would be very difficult to understand why hundreds of young women and girls are leaving their homes in the West to join Islamic fighters in the Middle East.

There was an air of inevitability about John McNulty’s decision yesterday afternoon to withdraw his name from the list of candidates for the vacant Seanad seat.

Though the announcement of what water charges will cost individuals or families dominated the headlines yesterday, a tax that will collect far more money, and from just one section of society, fell due this week.

The announcement that talks involving the British and Irish governments will try to break the deadlock in the North’s peace process must be welcomed. That welcome must be qualified by deep frustration and scepticism however — frustration that even after years of considerable autonomy the Stormont parties are still unable, or more likely unwilling, to accept the responsibilities of power.

Any objective assessment of our stewardship of the world around us must reach conclusions so disheartening that it is often easier to look away in shame and wonder what any individual can to to try to slow or even reverse the consequences of centuries of destruction.