While I appreciate the desire to protect children from second-hand smoke exposure in cars, I’m afraid that the suggestion to ban smoking in cars occupied by children represents an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy and autonomy of parenthood.

At its recent conference Labour announced it would not be re-opening the Vatican embassy until such time as ‘the Vatican fully co-operated with this State in investigating cases of child abuse’.

When our economy imploded in 2010, the bailout provided by the Troika in 2010 was calculated on the best estimates of how long it would take Ireland to balance its day-to-day income and expenditure and the best estimates were this could be achieved by about 2014/15.

In his letter (Apr 23) Mr John Lyons sets out that I have increased the amount of expenses for TDs by €27,000; this is simply not true.

The key problem with people such as Jim from Sligo (Letters, April 21) calling for a return to the core values of the Labour Party is that these values have been diluted and fragmented to such a degree over the past century as to become almost meaningless.

Further to my recent visits to Cobh during the Titanic celebrations, I wish to convey my congratulations to the Titanic 100 crew and volunteers, for their hard work in putting on a wonderful show of Cobh.

Following the letter by Ursula Curtin (Apr 17) regarding her recent visit to Cobh, a number of Cobh locals wish to issue this response.

I was listening to Nora Owen on RTÉ radio deprecating the making of money out of the sale of her grand-uncle, Michael Collins’s hair lock, at an auction recently.

The core of 'the abortion issue’ that has yet to be truthfully examined is the definition of ‘unborn’ as defended by our Constitution.

ON Apr 12, the Irish Examiner reported that the National Roads Authority is to spend €1m to upgrade the dual carriageway between the Jack Lynch Tunnel and Ballincollig.