The suspension of the Sex Offender Programme (SOP) at Arbour Hill Prison has attracted a degree of attention, but the real scandal has been the inadequacy of even that programme, which was the only dedicated treatment for sex offenders. Only 42 of the 578 sex offenders released in the past five years completed SOP.

HEAVY indeed is the head that wears the crown, especially when there is such turmoil, discontent and growing unemployment across the land. Especially as there was an expectation that the resumption of our parliamentary process, the public part of it anyway, might afford politicians an opportunity to indicate how they intend to confront the issues challenging us all.

PRESIDENT BUSH ends his presidency as one of the least popular American presidents of all time but we can be thankful that he ignored advice offered by Libertas founder and anti-Lisbon campaigner Declan Ganley.

AS THE recent RTÉ series on Cromwell reminded us, religious intolerance and persecution have left a deep and lasting impact, an all but indelible one really, on the way we view our world.

LAST Monday the Mahon tribunal sat for the 900th day. Established in 1997 to “inquire into matters regarding planning and payment to politicians”, it has been exhaustive and exhausting, not least in terms of resources.

WE have learnt how powerless we are when international financiers loot and pillage like privateers rather than bankers worthy of trust or respect.

THE Sunday Business Post poll showing a 4% fall in Fianna Fáil support — to 36% — would normally mean an especially early reveille for the Soldiers of Destiny at their Lower Mount Street headquarters but such are the challenges facing Taoiseach Cowen and his colleagues that they cannot afford to spend too long dwelling on this poor report card.

IRISH suicide rates have been at a dreadfully high level for a number of years, yet, because it is such a heartbreaking event surrounded by so much pain and unjustified guilt, we push it to the edge of our consciousness.

LAST year we gambled something around €6 billion at racecourses, in bookies’ shops, in casinos, on the net or by just buying Lotto tickets.

THOUGH it’s far, far too soon to suggest that the crisis in the world’s markets is slowing, there were two pieces of good news yesterday.