As a skirmish between national governments and international corporations over tax avoidance becomes something far more intense Ireland finds itself in the crosshairs of the US Senate’s Permanent Committee of Investigations.

The report from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPI) that concluded British plans to build up to eight nuclear power plants pose only a “very low” risk to Ireland is welcome and reassuring.

Personal relationships, at least the honest ones, are partially built on expectations, and if those expectations are not realised then only the very strongest partnerships can blossom, reach their potential, or even survive.

Despite — or possibly because of — our history of internecine savagery conducted, in name at least, for nationalism or religion, we should be able to understand the motivations behind the carnage inflicted daily on populations in Middle East.

Sometimes you have to pinch yourself, take a deep breath and listen carefully to be sure that you heard what you thought you heard.

Sometimes it’s not hard to think that official Ireland lags behind what society expects of it.

The great public health war of recent decades focussed on tobacco and the terrible impact it had — or continues to have — on users’ health.

The recommendation by the National Council for Special Education that schools must facilitate children with special needs is welcome but challenging, especially at this time.

The topic may not dominate or even feature at the more glittering dinner parties in Ireland this weekend but the momentum building behind Britain’s Eurosceptic Tories about an in-or-out EU vote deserves, from a purely selfish Irish view, some serious consideration.

That the pay of the chief executive of Bus Éireann Martin Nolan is to fall from €189,000 to €184,000 hardly celebrates the idea of social solidarity or that those with the most should pay the most as we try to rebuild this economy.