LEADING economist David McWilliams has defended being paid €10,000 for the Farmleigh economic think-in, claiming waiving the fee would be like “asking a plumber to fix your drains for nothing”.

I WAS given the book ‘Benedictus’ by the philosopher/poet John O’Donohue for Christmas.

THEY say that when you point one finger there are five pointing back at you.

The Garda Inspectorate today insisted there was no need for a fully-armed police force despite the growing threat of gangland violence.

Employers need to fit working hours around the busy lives of post-boom families to help save communities, a leading sociologist claimed today.