Joyce and Sybil Burden are two kindly old ladies facing a potentially nasty situation. Living in the same house all their lives, one of the pair faces an enormous inheritance tax bill when the other passes away. With no income beyond their pensions, the size of the bill means that one of them will have to sell the house to pay the taxman.

"People", according to the 19th century German statesman Otto von Bismarck, “never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election”. It's a cynical view, but watching the debate over the Lisbon Treaty, you get the depressing feeling that Bismarck had a point.
Instead of an open and informed debate on the merits of the Lisbon Treaty, we have been treated to a display of mudslinging, red herrings and disinformation. It’s been a poor advertisement for democracy.

Legendary movie mogul Darryl F Zanuck, founder of 20^th Century Fox studios predicted in the 1940s that television wouldn’t take hold – “People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” In the decades that followed, television made a mug out of Zanuck, as it went on to become the most powerful medium of the  20th century.
In recent years, we have become so entranced with a 21^st century medium, the internet, that we have grown almost blasé about the continued power of TV. So much so that discussion of new legislation in the area of broadcasting seems to be confined to our politicians, with the public thoroughly disengaged.

“The question is, do you feel lucky, punk?” With these words, Clint Eastwood helped to symbolise the American ‘get tough’ policy on crime. Made in the mid-1970s Eastwood's Dirty Harry films, along with the Death Wish films of Charles Bronson, embodied in film the frustration that many US voters felt about soaring crime rates. America was as mad as hell, and wasn't going to take it any more.

Dear Mr Cowen, 
First of all, congratulations on your ascent to the highest office in Irish politics. Over the course of over 85 years, only 11 other persons have attained this position. It’s a rare honour, and a unique responsibility, that you receive today. 
After the congratulations, however, will come the challenges, and these are formidable.

Legendary automotive tycoon and business pioneer Henry Ford wasn't a slavish devotee to the maxim that the customer is always right. He famously told potential buyers of his revolutionary Model T Ford, one of the first mass-produced and relatively affordable cars, that they could have the car in any colour "as long as it's black".

The law has a way of dealing with contracts which it holds are illegal or immoral. It can refuse to enforce them. In one infamous case in the 19th century, a coach builder hired out a coach to a woman in prostitution for the purpose of enabling her, in the restrained words of one of the judges, "to make a display favourable to her immoral purposes." The coach builder later sued her for monies payable under the agreement. The courts ruled that he couldn't recover the price agreed, on the basis that he had full knowledge of the nefarious purposes for which his coach was being used. 
Are modern judges more reluctant to consider the moral dimensions of contracts? Just last week, a biological father who sought guardianship and access rights to his child lost his case in the High Court.

Some years ago, Irish director Daniel O'Hara made a short film called My Name is Yu Ming. The central character, a Chinese shopkeeper, decides to move to Ireland. On learning that Irish is the first official language of the State, he resolves to learn the Gaeilge. But, on arriving here, he quickly learns that no one speaks it. In fact, they think he is speaking Chinese. 
At 13 minutes long, the film is a devastating critique of our treatment of our native language. A quick look at the Constitution shows that Irish is the first language. But Des Bishop's current series, In the Name of the Fada, illustrates the extent to which the State has failed in its aim to teach pupils how to use and speak our first language in an everyday way.

Cork-reared US radical journalist Alexander Cockburn makes a nice caustic remark about his profession. The first law of journalism, he says, is "to confirm existing prejudice, rather than contradict it".

“China is changing the world towards a path of repression,” was the cry from one of the Tibetan protesters who upstaged the lighting of the Olympic flame on Monday. The flame-lighting in Greece was meant to symbolise the transfer of the Olympic ideal from Athens, where the Games were held in 2004, to Beijing, where they are scheduled to be held in August. 
The focus was meant to be on the Olympic ideal, and on the pride and effort of athletes. Instead, the flame became a spotlight on the issue of human rights abuses. 

According to one online poll last week, a majority of voters oppose St Patrick's Day trips abroad by Government ministers. The voters don’t, unfortunately, agree that these trips allow Ireland to develop trade and cultural links with other countries. All the voters see are costly taxpayer-funded junkets, it seems.
But even the hardest of hearts would hardly begrudge the Taoiseach his visit to the United States last Monday. After another tough week, which saw yet more details revealed about his complicated personal finances, the man clearly needed a break.

Back in 1992, the late Brian Lenihan Snr said Ireland would be “the laughing stock of Europe” if we failed to endorse the Maastricht Treaty. That was before both the Danes and the French voted ‘No’. For one wag at the time, this meant that a ‘Yes’ vote would make us the laughing stock of Europe.
During the 1980s and 1990s, legions of commentators bemoaned the fact that Ireland lagged behind other countries - culturally, economically and socially. But it’s a long time since Ireland was an international laughing stock. Our continental competitors, with economic growth rates inferior to ours, have little reason to laugh. Despite the economic woes that result from a international slowdown, Ireland continues to have an economy that stands comparison with any in the world.
Yet a recent report from a Government think-tank suggests that some top advisers may want Ireland to go back to being ‘Paddy-last’. A study from the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) says that our child benefit scheme is “hugely inefficient” at reducing poverty, since it is paid to all families regardless of income. Instead of putting more money into the child benefit system, NESC says, the State should create a new “second tier” system for lower income families.

Can I marry a tree? In one sense, the answer, surprisingly, is yes. In a recent essay on the subject of same sex marriage, Dr Neville Cox, a senior lecturer in Trinity College, says that marriage is all about definitions. If you define marriage as a union that can take place between you and any other animate or inanimate object, then you can marry anyone or anything.

“Finding out that your child has a disability is one of the most difficult things that any parent could have to deal with.” Those understanding words were written in the Irish Times on Monday, by the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin. They show an admirable level of compassion and empathy. Sadly, they do not appear to reflect the attitude of her Department to parents who find themselves in the position the Minister describes.

In practice now, a married couple with children, surviving on a single-income, could be paying €6,240 more tax each year than a double income couple, with or without children, with the same total earnings. Tax individualisation diminishes and disregards the unpaid work being done by the parent who chooses to stay at home. This country is awash with money, and we can well afford a rethink on how we are treating families. It’s time we made choices in favour of the next generation.

We’re having a phoney war on crime, and a faux debate over how to fight it. Treating criminals like outcasts, and putting the emphasis on tougher sentences might satiate some people’s anger. But it ignores the reality that, at present, our prison system simply turns petty offenders into more hardened criminals. A proper rehabilitation policy would mean less re-offending, which in turn would mean less crime.

Given the considerable and ever-growing economic, social and health costs associated with alcohol abuse in Ireland, our politicians must be bolder. It’s time to ban, or drastically curtail, alcohol advertising aimed at young drinkers.

The quality of life agenda isn't just about one-off measures such as tackling transport or equalising tax for stay-at-home parents. It's about wider cultural questions. Isn't there a link between the priority we give to family, community and the raising our children - and the way we treat each other? Our high-growth, low unemployment economy has brought many benefits, and we should strive to maintain it. But the policies of progress need to be put in a more holistic and convincing context.

To break the cycle of trafficking, other countries have allowed temporary residency to abused women, plus reflection periods to allow them recover from the problems linked with captivity and exploitation – disorientation, trauma and mistrust. Our Government’s failure to legislate, in line with internationally recognised standards, is inexcusable.

"The use of words such as 'citizenship tourism' suggests people are trying to access Ireland and the EU out of some kind of lifestyle choice. In fact, they are trying to escape poverty."

It is important to acknowledge the dignity of elderly people and the value of their lives in our communities.

"The wider community must take responsibility for prisoners, including the drug-abusers, if rehabilitation of prisoners is to happen."