Fergus Finlay: Hate of any difference bubbles beneath our progressive veneer

Bel and Sam on First Dates. The episode saw genderqueer, non-binary, bisexual, and polyamorous civil servant Bel (30) from Wicklow meet pansexual Dublin hairdresser and self-described 'adult Emo', Sam (28).

There’s a great public institution in Dublin that seldom gets much of a mention. It’s 110 years old, has been located in the same building more or less since the beginning, and it provides phenomenal services to the people of Dublin and beyond. It describes itself as a centre of excellence in care, in education, and in research, and in my direct experience it sure is.

It’s the Dublin Dental Hospital. I’m very proud of the fact that it was my former colleague Brendan Howlin who rescued the hospital from a long period of neglect and in-fighting. It desperately needed investment, but the Department of Health didn’t want to know, because it was a teaching establishment almost inside the gates of Trinity College. The Department of Education, on the other hand, said “nothing to do with us — it’s a healthcare place”.