THE response of the teachers’ unions to a suggestion that salary increments due next year be deferred is as dispiriting as it is predictable.

THOSE who bought property during the boom years, when we couldn’t build houses fast enough, and have discovered that the houses may not have proper ventilation, that fire safety regulations may not have been observed or that their homes are less energy efficient than they might be will wonder what part regulatory authorities played in the process.

Christmas is a very lonely time for those who have lost family members, with the result that a great many people are not only not looking forward to the month ahead, but actually dreading it.

Under the Adoption Act 2010 people in Ireland can only adopt children from countries that have signed the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, or from countries with which this country has a bilateral adoption agreement.

Today marks the first anniversary of the Government’s announcement that the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund had agreed to a programme of financial assistance to Ireland totalling €85 billion.

The art auction held yesterday in Blackrock, Dublin, raised over €60,000 for disabled artist Alexandra Trotsenko.

THE public response to the story of four-year-old JJ Ryan’s battles with bureaucracy is as heart-warming as the official response is chilling.

THE failings of social workers assigned to the horrific Roscommon abuse and incest case were well documented in the official inquiry that followed public outcry over the prolonged suffering of the children involved.

THERE are few conditions that eat at the human heart and mind like loneliness.

IT becomes painfully obvious each and every day what the loss of economic independence means.