The sight of senior citizens protesting outside the gates of the Dáil yesterday was a stark warning to the Coalition that age is no barrier to active anger and that, once riled, older people have a strident and far-reaching voice.

When you are on the defensive, go on the offensive.

The British government’s decision to press ahead with a vigorous expansion of nuclear power is clearly of more than a passing interest on this side of the Irish Sea.

Things are getting better, they say. The economy is picking up. We have turned the corner in fixing the nation’s finances. The economy will grow again next year. We will soon say slán to our troika babysitters.

The absence of a US ambassador to Ireland since last December has been bitterly criticised by leaders of the Irish-American community who supported President Barack Obama and now feel betrayed.

Health Minister James Reilly has said that people who have a medical card and are entitled to it have nothing to fear regarding its withdrawal.

It would have been unthinkable even a decade ago for a leading Unionist politician to salute the GAA. Even a “snaking regard” of the organisation and the sporting skills of its members would hesitate to heap praise on the organisation in private, let alone in the public eye.

The fear that up to 100,000 people could lose medical cards due to the Government’s plan to cut €660m from funding for the Department of Health is leading to a considerable degree of anxiety among older vulnerable people. This seems to be a perennial problem for successive governments.

The Taoiseach officially launched “the Bernal Project” at the University of Limerick yesterday.

Those unfortunate enough to live in houses damaged by pyrite will welcome the Government’s €10m to kick-start renovations in 1,000 homes needing immediate structural repair.