The confirmation by Agriculture and Marine Minister Simon Coveney that 230,000 farmed salmon escaped from a fish farm in Bantry Bay during last month’s storms once again rings alarm bells around the controversial industry.

During the two months since the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission bugging story broke, during the weeks since former commissioner Martin Callinan gave his “disgusting” testimony to the Dáil’s PAC and ever since last week’s announcements of routine phone tapping at Garda stations — and Mr Callinan’s resignation — public discourse has focused almost exclusively on policing.

Ten years ago today, smoking was banned in the workplace.

The GAA is expected to announce a three-year deal with pay-to-view broadcasters Sky Sports.

In the last 30 years we’ve had a plethora of tribunals, commissions, investigations and reports, so many in fact it is hard to understand why we do not live in a perfect society.

A political earthquake, right off the Richter scale, struck the Dáil yesterday when embattled Justice Minister Alan Shatter finally withdrew and apologised for his damaging statements about garda whistleblowers, Sergeant Maurice McCabe and John Wilson, two courageous men who deserve to be thanked for exposing what is now known to be widespread abuse of the penalty points system by members of the force.

It will come as no surprise to the stall-holders of Cork’s English Market that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth enjoys the company of decent, ordinary people.

Yesterday’s startling events, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan’s resignation and Cabinet revelations about widespread Garda telephone bugging, came as close to rendering the acronym GUBU insufficient as any scandal since double-murderer Malcom McArthur was arrested in the home of then attorney general Patrick Connolly in the summer of 1982.

Today’s cabinet meeting has assumed an importance that the participants could not have anticipated even a few days ago.

The confirmation yesterday afternoon of the fate of the Malaysia Airlines plane at the centre of world attention since it went missing 17 days ago will bring some finality if not clarity or comfort to the relatives of the 239 passengers and crew lost in the tragedy.