The staggering amount of booze that young Irish people drink has long been documented, but far less is known about the effects of alcohol on their lives.

It is not overstating the case to say that the measures announced after yesterday’s meeting between France’s new president, François Hollande, and German chancellor Angela Merkel are the most important since the Marshall Plan — officially the European Recovery Program — was announced and sponsored by America in the rootless and hungry days after the Second World War.

It is not surprising that presidential candidate Seán Gallagher waited until the report on the Prime Time Mission To Prey programme was published before he went into detail about how he was treated by the station.

We don’t have to step too far back from the turmoil threatening parts of the European Union to see that EU membership has been a hugely positive experience for Ireland.

Volunteering Ireland tells us that a range of people worked for more than 420,000 hours of work last year — worth nearly €10m — for various causes.

The national Famine commemoration yesterday was a poignant reminder of our history.

In his inaugural address last November, President Michael D Higgins promised to hold a series of seminars around the country to listen to the concerns of young people.

Today we describe the case of self-confessed fraudster Breifne O’Brien who, over 15 years, cheated relatives, friends and friends of friends. He used his privileged position — an affluent family, raised in a castle, private schools followed by Trinity — to swindle millions from others in his haute bourgeois milieu.

It’s far too early to break out the Bollinger but yesterday’s suggestion from the European Commission that our economy will grow by 0.5% this year and by 1.9% next year is indeed cheering, even if only moderately so.

It’s far too early to break out the Bollinger but yesterday’s suggestion from the European Commission that our economy will grow by 0.5% this year and by 1.9% next year is indeed cheering, even if only moderately so.