THE pathetic defence by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey that it made no difference whether or not he was in the country for the weather crisis is probably more true than he might like to admit, but it also speaks volumes about the qualities of accountability, responsibility and leadership in government.

WHILE President McAleese has apologised for her remark that “people in Northern Ireland transmitted to their children an irrational hatred of Catholics,” I believe she was not too wide of the mark.