In light of this summer’s forced closures of several popular beaches because E.coli in seawater jeopardised bathers’ health, yesterday’s announcement that Castletownbere — or any other town anywhere in the country — will have to wait at least another three years for a long-promised water treatment plant is unacceptable.

The terrible tragedy near Hillsborough, Co Down, at the weekend confirms what statistics have already shown.

The very best of Ireland was on display at Saturday night’s glittering People of the Year Awards.

Despite the deeply ominous appearance of masked and armed men in a funeral cortege on the streets of Dublin, with all that implies, there are welcome indications that An Garda Síochána are gaining the upper hand in the fight against organised crime.

Who would have believed that there are 7,800 charities in Ireland?

Just as the German court ruling on Wednesday morning brought the euro crisis back into a very sharp focus, a series of events around the domestic economy yesterday demanded attention.

Like all small parties that chose to support Fianna Fáil in government the Green Party is paying a very high price for its ever-so-brief flirtation with power.

Yesterday, after weeks of August-induced calm, the euro crisis returned to centre stage with some force and, thankfully, all of the news seemed reassuring; some of it quite positive.

For the second time, British Prime Minister David Cameron has had to acknowledge that official reports on a tragedy were based on police or security force dishonesty.

The Dáil will sit for the first time after the summer break next Tuesday and, as anyone with even a passing interest in the country’s affairs realises, it could be a deeply divisive term and probably impose changes that will make life less comfortable for most citizens.