THE announcement by ESB Electric Ireland earlier this week that it will offer very worthwhile price reductions to customers who are “in good standing” was very welcome.

EVEN though it has taken a 15-year campaign, the news that the 75,000 or so babies born every year are to be screened for cystic fibrosis is very welcome.

The murder of Ronan Kerr in Omagh must be deplored as an attack on democracy and civilised society.

A recent scientific report published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science noted that there was a “remarkable geographical variation” in a nationwide study of the incidences of testicular cancer between 1994 and 2007.

IF you think things are bad now, consider what it was like in the Ireland of a hundred years ago when the 1911 Census was compiled.

IT’S hard to imagine the mixed feelings of relief and apprehension of the person released last week from the Central Mental Hospital on “conditional” discharge whereby patients can be recalled if they breach strict rules.

The stress tests were only about the amount of money ultimately needed to facilitate the bank bailout, but the next issue is where to get the money.

Yesterday’s announcement of the result of the Central Bank’s stress tests into the country’s banks was designed to boost confidence by providing a realistic insight into the extent of the financial problems facing the country.

The Dáil passed a motion of censure calling on Michael Lowry to resign his seat. The motion, taken without a vote, was essentially a meaningless gesture with no more credibility than an anonymous complaint.

WE were assured that it would be the cheapest bank bailout in history but two-and-a-half years later the bill is not yet finalised. Neither is it even likely that this afternoon’s publication of the stress tests on Ireland’s banks will be conclusive.