We return once again today, on the opposite page, to the looming pension crisis.

Another of the unfortunate legacies — what a long, well-polished list that is — of our nation’s time as a colony is a visceral distaste for “informers”. That, however, did not prevent a great number of our countrymen or women being just that.

The Health Information and Quality Authority’s report on its unannounced visit to Waterford Regional Hospital makes for challenging reading.

As the photograph on this page, taken 43 years ago, shows, heritage, especially political heritage, takes many forms and at least as many positions.

The State agency Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) is an enthusiastic proponent of plans to build Europe’s largest salmon feed lot off the Aran Islands.

In a century riven by two world wars and famines causing millions of deaths, disease exacted a spectacular toll on humanity even when compared to war or hunger.

For a small country, Ireland has an outstanding record in the fiercely competitive world of athletics, a reputation now stunningly embellished by the Cork City racewalker Rob Heffernan.

In a political system where dissent in the Dáil is stamped out by a dictatorial government with an overwhelming majority, the media has increasingly become the main opposition.

Following the jailing of John Dundon — the notorious gang leader who ordered a murder that triggered the killing of Shane Geoghegan, a totally innocent victim in the wrong place at the wrong time — the people of Limerick and of Ireland will breathe a sigh of relief that such a heinous and evil figure has been put behind bars for life.

With over 55,500 anxious young people getting their Leaving Certificate exam results today, it is worth noting that the impact of bonus points for college entry continued to rise when a record one-in-four maths students took higher level papers specifically to gain them.