ACCORDING to the last census there are 4,239,838 of us living in this republic.

I READ at the weekend that the Minister for Health had spent part of her holidays over Christmas in a luxury hotel in Thailand.

WELL, that was a year to say good riddance to, wasn’t it? The year we lost our independence.

EACH year at this time my faithful readers are invited to behold the same Shakespearean scene. Three witches, hideous to behold, their cackling voices grating on the ear, gathered around a fire in the depths of the forest. As we draw nearer, we see them dropping unmentionable animal parts into a boiling, bubbling pot.

LOOK, the truth is that I get a kick out of it, even if no one else does.

Ernest Blythe was the Fine Gael (or Cumann na nGael) Minister for Finance in 1923.

SO, Budget Day.

DEAR President,

CAN I make a modest suggestion.

DEAR David and Jack, I hope you don’t mind if I take the liberty of writing you an open letter.