There now follows a party political broadcast on behalf of ...

THE firmest, clearest commitment was given to reopen the mills at about 2am on February 8 of this year by John Bruton. He did so as Fitz Gerald's representative. That night, at a meeting with the General Secretary of the ICTU, he accepted the commitments entered into by Albert Reynolds. He was in absolutely no doubt about what those commitments were, as he was handed- a copy of Reynolds's letter at the meeting. He wasn't happy about it, but he accepted it. That day' the government confirmed those commitments in.a statement.

The President of the District Court is interviewed by Kevin Dawson about his response to criticism of the Rent Courts.

FIRST THERE IS SALLINS. SALLINS IS A SMALL village in Kildare. There are humpback bridges at either end of the village. Go over the humpback at the northern end and, curving off to the left, there's a couple of miles of typical country road. Then a sharp right onto a lesser road. Up this for a few hundred yards. By Gene Kerrigan

VINNIE DOYLE TURNS UP AT the office every day around three, browses through the British dailies, and for the next two hours manageement burdens him with its problems and the union with theirs. He hears from features on what they have lined up, and from advertising telling him how many pages he has that night. But his working day proper does not start till the five p.m. news conference and only gets into gear around six, when he takes' himself up to the second floor and the subs room.

On September 12, 1971, Ballymena United came to the Brandywell football ground in Derry for a league game against the home side. Ballymena's bus was luckless1y parked in the heart of the Bogside and when they returned it had been burned to a shell. It being just a month after the introduction of internment, many vehicles in Derry met with a similar fate.

Reaction to the IBETA exhibition earlier this month has been very mixed. While many marvelled at the new Apple Lisa (it's a pity the Apple stand attendants weren't as customer friendly as their computer), a large number of people felt positively connfused about the relative merits of the gamut of computing products on display.

Do you call a Minister for State "Minister"? Yes, you do. Seeing as the programme is a bit informal, perhaps after the first time we might drop the "Minister" and call her "Nuala "? Well. Would you call Michael Noonan "Michael" or Garret: FitzGerald "Garret"? No. So.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mick Mills on his appointment as our Twenty Seven Thousand Pound Ombudsman. At that salary one assumes that his job is intended to be merely titular and to involve little or no work. (It is our experience that the actual work involved in any job is in inverse proportion to salary - it's the poor buggers on £80-l00pw who really sweat.)

Do we really need Leitrim? It's not an easy question to ask. People's feelings can be hurt. The issue may prove divisive. Nevertheless, the Spontaneous Aggravation Party (SAP) has earned its reputation of grasping the nettle by the horns of the dilemma. And last month's Execuutive meeting of SAP did that very thing - and in the process forged a new economic concept.