THERE was an air of inevitability about yesterday’s warning from the Department of Finance about the real cost of our commitment to confronting climate change.

WE ONCE believed violence was the last resort of someone unable to convey their wishes in an ordinary, acceptable way.

NOBODY is foolish enough to confuse the banks and the Salvation Army but we should all be able to sleep easy in our beds believing they are not pirates either.

IN SEVEN days we will be given an opportunity denied to the vast majority of the European Union’s 500 million citizens.

AMERICA has lost one of its most easily recognised brand names — for the moment at least.

THIS morning more than 110,000 young people begin school exams; 53,345 will sit the Leaving Certificate and 57,006 will take the Junior Certificate.

THOUGH farmers are right to be concerned about the implication of the current round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks it would have been unwise of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) to recommend to its members that they reject the Lisbon treaty.

THE commitment of any government to the future can be measured in its treatment of children, especially in the area of education. This raises serious questions about the current Government’s sense of values.

Fortunately, the 21 aircraft handlers who operate the tow trucks that move aircraft have come to an 11th-hour agreement to bring them in line with their SIPTU colleague.

PROFESSOR Brendan Drumm has become, in a relatively short time, an accomplished media performer. He is convincing and reassuring, authoritative, articulate and polished. He has probably been tutored to use the cut-’em-off-at-the-pass tactic of answering awkward questions before they are asked and answering them on his own terms.