BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part two) Last week, I recalled how Sean Holden of Callan observed bees disinfecting themselves to comply with Foot and Mouth Disease restrictions…, On a more serious note…the farmers and their families affected, as well as any farm employees on the site of an outbreak had to be quarantined. Little red flags …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you looking for something to help your focus? How many times have you heard, seen, or read something, and five minutes later you can’t recall it? It happens a lot for me. I return to the scene of where I first had the thought and it usually comes back to me. …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Budget 2026 was revealed by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers on Tuesday. It painted a picture of fiscal restraint wrapped in “strategic priorities”. Gone are the flashy give-aways of €2,000 to €3,000 to the middle earners. Instead, this is a Budget that whispers “not yet” …

FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran And so the Big Day looms – Presidential Election Day. Am I excited or what? Let’s just say What. In my entire voting life (more elections than I care to remember) I have never been so unenthused about casting my vote. To be honest I couldn’t care less if I never …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON The issue of child poverty has been hitting the headlines recently but what lies behind those two words? There are questions that demand answers. Why have the numbers involved increased despite promises made in the last 10 years and why in one of the world’s richest countries 45,000 …

CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton Very few people seem to be talking about it, but the memory of Covid still looms large for so many who are still living with the trauma of their experiences from that time. Everyone’s professional and personal lives were subject to massive upheavals. Some more than others. There …