The Naval Service is preparing to use drones as part of a plan to improve its surveillance operations while policing the county’s 1 million square kilometres of territorial waters.

Despite being in the Dáil til after midnight as the abortion debate rumbled on, a bright-eyed Taoiseach found himself within hours riding the high seas in a powerboat on Cork harbour on one of the most beautiful days of the summer.

Think letting highly paid Government ministers jet off to some of the most sought-after locations in the world for St Patrick’s Day is the wrong way to kick-start foreign interest in Ireland?