Public campaigns to improve the quality of our lives, to make our day-to-day existence safer, do not always succeed as their promoters would wish.

Over the last few days we’ve detailed how schools’ green flag programmes are fostering a greater understanding and urgency about how we develop ways of existing without further damaging the only environment we have.

Even though we’ve been told that our economy, and by extension our society, is facing challenges all but unprecedented in modern times, yesterday’s figures from the Central Bank showing that 83,251 — 10.9% — of the 761,533 private residential mortgages in the country are in arrears for 90 days or more tell a harrowing story.

With the price of petrol and diesel set to reach a record high within days, it’s time the Government gave hard-pressed motorists a break.

While bankers squabble, companies go to the wall.

As communications become more internationalised, personal and unfettered it may seem anachronistic to suggest we need to pay more attention to our domestic media, who owns and controls it.

It seems likely that the way places are secured in third-level colleges will change.

Scientific advances force us to reconsider many dearly held beliefs.

Though this summer’s unprecedented rainfall has played a part in the E.coli outbreak that has closed seven beaches in Co Cork, we cannot pretend that human mismanagement has not played its part.

Very many of us will know, or have learnt from experience, that when things are really difficult, when our options are very limited, that turning to our family for support is often the best and only realistic option.