MY heart has gone out this week to all those thousands of young people doing their Leaving and Junior Certs in some of the most glorious weather we’ve had for years.

JUST what are the natural and imprescriptible rights of a child? According to our constitution, every Irish child has them. But nowhere in the Constitution is there any attempt to spell out what they are.

IN 1994 a Government fell, and these were the circumstances. There had been growing tension between the parties in Government over a number of difficult issues.

IN the early 1990s, a long time ago, two women decided to pay a visit to Trinity College in Dublin.

HERE’S an actual case history based on recent experience. This story is repeated hundreds of times every day in our health service.

I’M looking for a little indulgence this week because I’m celebrating an anniversary that, up to now, no one in the world knows about but me.

YOU only have a week left, you know. If you want to be one of our country’s new breed of censors, it’s time to get your application in because the deadline is next Tuesday.

THERE’S not a moment to lose. We cannot allow the college points system to die a natural death; we have to get out there and make sure we kill it stone dead. A stake through the heart, that’s what it needs.

IN almost exactly a year’s time — probably on Thursday, May 3, 2007 — the Taoiseach will go into the Dáil, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, and say something like this:

SO, HOW are you doing? Did you fill in your census form on Sunday? I hope you did, because without it there are a lot of choices we won’t be able to make.