FORMER Dáil deputy Jim McDaid once called those who committed suicide “selfish bastards” and this unfortunate phrase came to mind this week when he ended his own political career suddenly, dramatically and seemingly with little care for some of those left behind.

LAST Monday I set out to demonstrate to my kids the adage that there is no such thing as bad weather which should dissuade physical activity, merely unsuitable clothing.

AS the Government seeks to cut its own spending massively a question arises: should Irish money for overseas development aid and foreign disaster relief come from the coffers of the state or directly to charities and aid agencies from the pockets of private citizens without any involvement by the state?

THANKFULLY there is still time to save the people of this country from the serious mistake of building a new national children’s hospital in Dublin’s north-inner city on the grounds of the already crowded Mater Hospital complex.

ENDA Kenny should run for President instead of Taoiseach. That could solve a lot of problems for him, for his party and for his country.

IN any other country it would be obvious.

ADVANCED age or previous good character cannot be given as legitimate excuses for PJ Sheehan’s boneheaded drunken behaviour in the grounds of Dáil Eireann in early July, as revealed only last weekend.

IT’S confession time. I’m guilty of having once committed much the same sin as Brian Cowen did this week with his drinking/little sleep/subsequent interview routine, but it’s not going to stop me from throwing a few stones at the Taoiseach nonetheless.

THE sight of a handshake would have been hard enough to stomach, but the picture of beaming former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern being embraced in a bear-hug by NAMA resident property developer Johnny Ronan last Tuesday, at the opening of the Dublin Convention Centre, was nauseating.

THE fuss about Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright’s announcement of her planned departure from politics has been justified because of how it illustrates the difficulties of time management faced by women who want an active political career, especially those with pre-school and schoolgoing children.