OUR Constitution must copper-fasten the protection of children from those who would seek to harm them, according to Fergus Finlay, Barnardos chief executive.

REUNIFICATION or redundancy? That seems to be the dilemma facing Gerry Adams and the leadership of Sinn Féin. They seem to be on the verge of becoming about as important to the political process down here as, well, the PDs.

THIS year our Government is planning to spend around €62 billion. It’s an enormous figure, isn’t it? You’d think there was no problem that couldn’t be solved with that kind of money, and maybe a little more imagination, a bit more serious planning and a lot more better management.

I KNOW I’m only supposed to do begrudgery on this page. I’m supposed to get angry about the uneven distribution of wealth in Ireland, the immorality of policies that favour the rich, the injustice and unfairness that so many people suffer from.

I WANT to see Hillary Clinton win for several reasons. First, she is immensely able — easily the most able of the candidates left in the race. Her international and economic expertise make even candidates a good deal older than her look like novices.

WHEN you have the privilege of writing an opinion column, you try as hard as you can to be fair. By inclination and temperament, I’m always inclined to take sides and I can get emotional about some things.

DO YOU remember the currency crisis at the end of 1992? Well, I’ll never forget it. I took out a mortgage in the month it started. Like most of us, it was more than I could afford and the first mortgage payment was about double the rent I had been paying in the month before that.

Expectations are the great double-edged sword of politics.

IS it OK for us to introduce internment without trial in Ireland? Of course, we would seek to ensure that the only people interned were black people. Would that make it OK?

YOU will recognise the passage, won’t you? “The State … guarantees to protect the Family in its constitution and authority, as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and the State.