Before the Great Famine, the population of Ireland was approximately 8.2m people. Mass starvation caused a death toll of close to one million people and another one million were forced to emigrate to the US, Canada and Great Britain.

I WAS amazed to hear on a recent RTÉ1 programme, and in press reports, dealing with inefficiency, unacceptable procedures and malpractices in hospitals, that the use of a whistleblower in the health service was even thought worthy of discussion.

WE can only hope that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s latest mercy plea for Irish-born kidnapped aid worker Margaret Hassan is more successful, and brings more influence to bear, than was regrettably the case with his intercession for former hostage Kenneth Bigley.

THE recent scandals involving AIB and NIB came as no great surprise.