The decision of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates is to be warmly welcomed. Other banks have followed suit, including the Bank of China, Bank of Japan, and Swiss National Bank.

IT SEEMS that each and every day it becomes more difficult to retain a hope that we may be able to engineer our way out of our difficulties without great upheaval or, dread of dreads, enduring far, far more difficult and miserable times.

THE Morris tribunal yesterday cleared the names of two senior gardaí — one retired — assistant commissioner Kevin Carty and former assistant commissioner Tony Hickey.

IT IS reassuring if not inspiring to know that, as banks are being bought up like the cheaper paintings at a minor charity auction, that 95% of Irish teenagers believe that they lead “a happy, meaningful life”.

THERE are suggestions that marine rescue stations at Valentia in Kerry and at Malin Head in Donegal are to be replaced by a new centre at Shannon and another in central Dublin.

THE longer it takes the ambulance service to get emergency patients to hospital, the greater the risk to their safety and lives.

IT IS heartening that twice as many children from the Traveller community are in second-level education today than six years ago.

THOUGH we face huge issues as we try to sustain our banking sector and restore some semblance of trust in it; though Finance Minister Brian Lenihan’s budget in just two weeks is likely to be more severe than any in living memory, most of us are still better off than our parents were.

SISTER CONSILIO FITZGERALD, founder of the Cuan Mhuire network of addiction centres, reminded us yesterday that time is the most precious commodity.

NOW that we’ve had a few nights to sleep on it the euphoria that greeted the Cowen/Lenihan initiative is tempered ever so slightly.