Since his release from jail last week after serving 10 years for the abduction, rape and attempted murder of a woman from Carlow in February 2000, Larry Murphy has been the centre of what can only be described as a media maelstrom.

The Health Service Executive is spending more than €68 million annually on mobility aids such as wheelchairs, crutches and walking frames. During 2009 the HSE spent almost €188,000 a day on such specialised equipment.

ALMOST 42,000 people are on emergency payments under the basic supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is designed to provide a safety net for the social welfare system by providing a small weekly allowance to people with little or no income.

GANGLAND killings in Dublin have become such a regular occurrence that the city is beginning to take on aspects of Chicago during the height of prohibition.

Current discussions about cuts in the health services are likely to drag on for some time, because they have frightening implications.

It seemed incongruous that the public were being called on to rescue the banks while no provisions were being implemented to protect members of the public from the banks, if they came down heavily on individuals in financial difficulties in the midst of the current economic downturn.

THE release of convicted sex offender and attempted-murderer Larry Murphy from Arbour Hill Prison yesterday, having served only 10-and-a-half years of a 15-year sentence, has triggered intense public debate.

AMIDST the doom and gloom of these depressing times, it is heartening to hear that a UCC report shows grass and waste could be turned into natural gas to light and heat thousands of homes.

IN the space of 24 hours we have been told that the State’s attempt to rescue Anglo Irish Bank’s bondholders will cost at least €24,000,000,000 – €24 billion may be easier to read but it remains equally incomprehensible – and that gardaí in riot gear have been used to restore order on psychiatric wards because there are no longer enough nurses to meet the needs of the day.

VERY few people choose to have surgery or dental work readily available in this country undertaken abroad for reasons other than cost.