THE Law Reform Commission yesterday published a report on murder and involuntary manslaughter and how our courts view these crimes and how they apply suitable sentences.

THE decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to consider reversing the controversial policy of refusing to explain his decisions should be warmly welcomed.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been subjected to considerable criticism in recent times, but it deserves credit for tackling problems relating to the abuse of elderly people.

AS THE Taoiseach faces a death by a thousand cuts, he can take some consolation in the fact that he cannot have too many more to endure.

“EAT and drink local produce” is one of the mantras of the age and it would be a pity if yesterday’s announcement, that Beamish & Crawford’s parent Scottish & Newcastle will be taken over by Heineken and Carlsberg, brought the future of Murphy’s or Beamish stout into question.

The Irish Psychiatric Association (IPA) and the Irish Mental Health Coalition (IMHC) issued what amounted to damning progress reports yesterday to mark the second anniversary of the publication of A Vision for Change, the Government’s framework document for mental health.

The great majority, 80%, of Irish teenagers are the correct weight, according to a year-long study of 450 secondary pupils aged from 13 to 17. Among some pupils, however, there has been a marked increase in obesity.

The EU is committed to cutting 20% of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, but that was never going to be more than a fine aspiration unless something practical is done to encourage people to amend their wasteful ways.

In THE past two years a tenth of all drinking water in this country has been contaminated with E-coli or the cryptosporidium parasite, according to a report published today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ON MONDAY David Brozovsky, a 19 year-old Czech, was sentenced to life in jail for the rape and murder of mother-of-two Sharon Coughlan in Longford last September.