It was probably inevitable that the exodus from the public service over recent years would mean the loss of vital skills.

It is hard to think of a point where our social ambitions and economic obligations are in greater conflict with our idea of what a decent society should be than the escalating difficulties around unpaid mortgages held on family homes.

Today, despite the inevitable intrusions of shameless commercialism, many of us will celebrate the idea of romantic love and all of the pleasures that entails.

It must be very disheartening for the great majority of food producers — from the smallest organic chicken farmer to the industrial-scale beef producer — to watch as efforts to win international consumers’ confidence are undone by the escalating horse-meat scandal.

As many retired bankers or exiled property developers will confirm, our justice system moves at a glacial pace.

Two stories today — and the ongoing disintegration of rural and not so rural roads — illustrate the continuing financial crisis facing our local authorities.

The great challenges facing Catholicism are epitomised in Pope Benedict XVI who announced yesterday — in Latin — that he is to resign on grounds of ill health.

Members of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have been told that no findings of facts can be made against previous office holders in the forthcoming inquiries into the banking fiasco.

Mislabelling meat products as beef when they contain horsemeat is rightly deplored, but this could have welcome consequences in making people more conscious of the need to be aware of the contents of packaged foods.

After almost 24 gruelling hours of squabbling between EU leaders, the Irish Government can afford to be well pleased at the outcome of negotiations on how Europe will spend almost €1tn between 2014 and 2020.