Gene Kerrigan reports on the campaign involving the 11/64 branch of Waterford Glass at Kilbarry.

JUDGE Frank Martin's "inadequate and unsatisfactory" charge to a jury last year has lead to the retrial of a

23 year-old Dublin man who has already served seven months in Mountjoy Prison on a robbery conviction.

Gerard Cowzer, of Holies Street, may remain behind bars for another year before he faces a jury again, however, because the court has denied him bail.

Colm Toibin listens to two supporters of the FitzGerald Amendment.

In this article from 1982, Gene Kerrigan writes that what is needed for Ballymun (then as now) is "a housing policy based on the needs of the tenants rather than an expedient policy based on the political and economic needs of the authorities. Then Ballymun could grow as a community."

Some things are still the same, third time around. The manners of some RTE camera crews, for instance.

The Government's economic plan, "The Way Forward" makes assumptions about output and export growth, which are entirely unrealistic. It avoids almost all the difficult political decisions on economic management including how the budget deficit is going to be reduced drastically next year and it neglects consideration of basic issues related to the economy.

In 1976 at the request of relatives of persons held under the Offences Against the State Act, I was involved in monitoring allegations of maltreatment of those in custody. Having failed to obtain the interest of officialdom at the time I submitted a dossier of cases to Amnesty International and other human rights organisations. One of the cases was that of Nicky Kelly whose judicial appeal to the Supreme court against his conviction was turned down last week. Kelly is known to be an innocent man.

Analysis of the Ireland-Spain game.

We are once more blundering towards exterior darkness. Against Spain we snatched a draw from the jaws of victory and, thereby, stumbled a little further away from the limelight. We will simply have to stop congratulating ourselves on having assembled our best ever squad, and get down to extracting the maximum from our limited ability and, so far, untapped potential.

Ireland's game against Spain (Nov. 17) has become the crucial test. Both the side's prospects of qualifying for the finals of the competition and manager Eoin Hand's ability to get the shape, blend and organisation of his side right depend on this game. Manifestly things were not right either against Holland or against Iceland.

The country is facing the most serious crisis since independence. Yet in it's eight months the last Dail met on only 51 days. The summer recess ran from 16 July to 27 October. Of the 166 TDs elected last February, more than 20 contributed not a word to a debate. Only about half made more than five contributions.