The economic twitterati, led by @irishexaminer columnist and professor of finance at Trinity College Dublin Brian Lucey (@brianmlucey) and assisted by Margaret Harrington (@curtainqueen) and @auntiedote, crowd-sourced an Irish-centric Austerity Dictionary, a tongue-in-cheekish look at the words used by us all on a daily basis as we try to make sense of our world.

SO, the past top dog at Irish Nationwide was given a €11,500 watch which finished up as a total burden to the Irish taxpayer of over €20,000, this is on top of his lump sum payment of €1m and a hefty pension pot.

AS we approach the December budget, the cries for “fairness” from the cosseted classes get louder and union bosses gird their loins for the mother of all showdowns with the Government.

IN his piece published in your Europe Day feature (May 9), Brian Crowley MEP tells us that after Lisbon, “the citizens’ initiative will grant the members of the public a direct input into the decision- making process”.

Giovanni Trapattoni tasted victory for the first time as Republic of Ireland boss after telling his players to dream.

THE Taoiseach showed his loss of touch with ordinary citizens in his outburst against BUPA last Friday. His venomous rantings and ridicule of a respected company with a huge customer base here contrasts with his joy at rubbing shoulders with fat-cat developers in the FF tent at the Galway races, some of them known tax defaulters.

IF people power existed in the Catholic Church, the fate of Cardinal Desmond Connell as the most senior figure in the Irish hierarchy would already be sealed.