NOW that the new puritans and the FF-hating ‘patriots’ have had their say about Brian Cowen’s morning-after croak, I wish to make a simple suggestion: why doesn’t someone sneak in a video camera to one of the late-night sessions he is being damned for enjoying so much and record him in action for the benefit of the nation?

WE might not have gained much from the proliferation of British TV shows such as the The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, but perhaps the voting system offers hope for the long-awaited reform of our political system.

HE ROSE a taoiseach and sat down as Bertie the backbencher.