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"Corporate financial kneecapping" appears to be the best term to describe the decision of the NTL cable service company to impose financial penalties on its bill-paying customers.

Some countries are trying to emulate Ireland's recent economic success, but the Irish miracle isn't looked upon favourably in all quarters. I caught a debate about tax and employment on a French current affairs show the other day (C'est dans l'air). The show featured a number of economists from French universities, including one from the Sorbonne. Another guest was the editor of a French business magazine. When they turned to discuss Ireland's progress towards prosperity, the gallic pundits showed mostly contempt for the Emerald Isle.

I read recently (Observer 21 Jan) of the Tax Justice Network for Africa (TJNA) and its assertion that over €120bn of tax due to governments in Africa has been moved to secretive tax havens, many under the juristiction of Western governments and facilitated by international banks. This far outstrips the empty pledges made at Gleneagles in 2005 and should make for some interesting debate at the World Economic Forum at Davos but will no doubt be swept under the carpet.

Would parties agree that if community consultation in the planning process is vital for balanced development, that the "consultation process" involved in the major project called the Tallaght Town Centre, which is for the development of a new city, leaves much to be desired as over 50 submissions from locals relating to concerns over density of developments were cynically ignored? Seven months later all councillors and Oireachtas members agree with most of these objections, but the new city goes ahead on the manager's terms, not on the terms of the community inputs.

The decision of the Provisionals to abandon Republican principles and embrace the police and administer British rule is Ireland is being described in some quarters as a "dangerous experiment" but the truth is the move is treachery of the highest order.

The recent debate on whether Pat Rabbitte will go into coalition with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael highlights the lack of choice in the upcoming election. What difference will it make to the majority of Irish People if Fianna Fail or Fine Gael leads the next government? What fundamental changes will take place if Enda Kenny is the new Taoiseach?

The new NDP 2007-2013 envisages spending €1.bn on infrastructure at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. At Dublin Airport this includes extending Terminal 1, a new Terminal 2 and a new runway.

Even though I don't speak Irish I recently decided to start using the Irish form of my name. To that end I started looking into ways of changing my official identification information to reflect the Irish form of my Identity. My birth certificate, driver's licence, bank account and passport were the first documents that I tried to change. Imagine my surprise when I found the weight of officialdom weighed in against me.

Since it is part of the human condition that power corrupts, it makes for a healthy democracy to have an alternative government to the one in power available at each election. This is especially important in Ireland now. The present government has been power for 10 years. Even more disturbing is the fact that the Fianna Fail component of the government has been in power for most of the last 20 years. I want to emphasise that I am not making a party political point. It would be equally disturbing if one of the opposition parties were in government that long.

I notice that Environment Minister Dick Roche has appealed to developers, builders, farmers, and local authorities to cease or curtail developments that decimate wildlife. I would respect and admire the minister's concern for Ireland's endangered flora and fauna if it weren't for a glaring oversight on the part of successive governments to halt one of the most shameful wildlife abuses of all: live hare coursing.