THERE was much about the new EU measures to combat climate change during the week. One of the big changes for this country will be the introduction of smart electricity meters to help people measure how they consume electricity, but it would be a lot more effective if we came up with a way of measuring the competence of our public servants.

WAYNE O’DONOGHUE has paid his debt to society and should be allowed the privacy to get on with the rest of his life without publicly having to relive his tragic mistakes.

As we were once told that something had to be done because the British decided it, now we are being told it’s because the EU has decided it.

John F Kennedy had to prove that a Roman Catholic could win in 1960, but the Catholic factor has not been an issue ever since.

WHILE at the National Archives previewing the State papers, which were officially released yesterday, I happened to be sitting beside Prof Ronan Fanning when I came across a letter written to him by the Irish ambassador to the US in 1977.

LITTLE over a week before the current Dáil met for the first time a senior counsel who has worked on the staff of at least one tribunal was asked who was going to be the next Taoiseach.

THE Government was forced into a U-turn over the pay raises this week. Bertie Ahern was right to say they would get no credit for the gesture. They deserved none.

Most people probably do not realise that tea and coffee are drugs, or that nicotine or alcohol are in themselves even more dangerous drugs.

Indeed, should Cowen be worried? After all, Bertie anointed Albert Reynolds for the presidency in 1997.

The way conspiracy theories grow demonstrates the need for investigations to be seen to be thorough and impartial.