Jackie Healy-Rae speaking in the Dáil on 14 June on the nomination of Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach and following the election of fellow South Kerry TD and constituency rival, John O'Donoghue as Ceann Comhairle.

Peter Charlton was appointed to the High Court earlier this year. Immediately prior to his appointment he had been the lead counsel at the Morris Tribunal and before that one of the leading criminal barristers in the State – he appeared in most of the celebrated murder trials of the last decade, including the Catherine Nevin trial.

He is author of several criminal law text books, author of a recent book on evil, member of a choir and father of young children.

Had she not sued RTÉ, Beverley Flynn would probably be a cabinet minister by now. Her involvement in the NIB tax fraud would have been brushed off. By Vincent Browne

I am disappointed with the decision to drop the “Tonight” programme on RTE Radio One but I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to present it for 10 years. I thank RTE for that opportunity and also all those who worked with me on the programme, the participants and the listeners.

I will continue writing for Village magazine and for the web site www.village.ie. I also, today, have a signed a contract with Random House to write a biography of Charles Haughey. Any assistance I can get from members of the public will be very welcome.

Presumably, a Taoiseach's Senate nomination for Dan Boyle and Tom Parlon. Tom Parlon's continuance in the Oireachtas may save the PDs from extinction, for a while. Dan Boyle's continuance in active politics is important for the Greens, perhaps for the two Green ministers. Otherwise probably the same mixture of party hacks, wannabee TDs and retirees.

Fine Gael demoralised, Labour becalmed, Sinn Féin discredited, Green defected, socialists defeated, the next five years are likely to be dreary. By Vincent Browne

The Planning Tribunal is threatening further political embarrassment for Bertie Ahern. The tribunal is in crisis because of the disclosure that it misled the High Court earlier this year on, potentially, an explosive issue, and because it has emerged that for years the tribunal was acting illegally, abusing the constitutional rights of persons appearing before it.

Village has submitted the following questions to the Planning Tribunal. At the time of going to print no response was forthcoming. In the event that the tribunal does respond to the questions we will publish the response in full in the next issue of Village.

One of the concerns there are about the off-the-record discussions during private interviews arises from what is known about the on-the-record discussions. The following is part of one of the transcripts arising from one of the interviews between two barristers then representing the tribunal, Pat Hanratty SC and John Gallagher SC, and Frank Dunlop, who was accompanied by his own counsel, Senan Allen.

In a series of phone conversations with the former Minister for the Environment, Padraigh Flynn in in1998, Tom Gilmartin (according to Padraigh Flynn, apparently authenticated by contemporaneous notes made by the latter of these conversations) made certain admissions about a crucial change in his evidence. He had previously stated that the £50,000 he had given to Padraigh Flynn in the autumn of 1989 was for Mr Flynn's own purposes. He subsequently changed his evidence, claiming that the money was intended for Fianna Fail.