IT IS clear that the Government never sought to abolish the Irish diplomatic channel to the Vatican at all, but rather to save money by combining the two embassies in Rome into one, serving both Italy and the Vatican.

MICHAEL D Higgins comes to the presidency at a time when the country is, in his words, awash with broken expectations.

A FEW years ago Sean Quinn was Ireland’s richest man and Anglo Irish Bank its most envied financial institution. Today, Quinn is bankrupt and Anglo is a ghost bank awaiting burial.

GIVEN the dire state of the economy, it would be sheer madness had the Government not wielded the axe on a raft of projects in its infrastructure and capital investment programme for the next five years.

TODAY marks the end of an era and the dawning of a new chapter in Irish history, a day when the presidency of Mary McAleese comes to a close and Michael D Higgins assumes the nation’s highest office as Head of State and 9th President of Ireland.

IMAGINE an Ireland where parents face the prospect of outliving their children and more than a quarter of nine year olds are overweight and suffering from the 21st century disease of obesity.

IT IS alarming to think that 27,000 parents working for a living are so badly off that they are being forced to claim vital welfare payments simply to put food on the table and heat their homes.

THE most alarming part of the Health Research Board’s report on treated problem alcohol use is the word “treated”.

IF Bertie Ahern was the Teflon Taoiseach then his successor can look forward to being Skate-Rink Kenny if he persists with the attitude shown in his performance on mortgage interest rates.

The Government’s appointment of the outgoing secretary general of the Department of Finance, Kevin Cardiff, to the European Court of Auditors raises a number of questions.