During a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committe on European Affairs, I said: We were very impressed by the Minister’s recent visit to Sudan to seek the release of two GOAL workers, one of whom is an Irish citizen. In the past when kidnappings took place, they were taken off the agenda very quickly. I remember the time when Don Tidey was kidnapped many years ago; his colleagues had to go out ten days later to seek publicity because the matter had been taken off the agenda. The same has happened more recently in the case of others...

During a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs, I said: I welcome the Taoiseach. Last year, I did not reach a decision on the Lisbon treaty until I had weighed up all the arguments. Any of the matters to which I will refer at this meeting will reflect the changes that have occurred since last year. I almost feel like a bride at a wedding saying to her husband to be “Of course I love you darling, but do you mind if I keep the furniture in my own name?” It appears as if we are seeking special treatment...

4FM, in partnership with the Sunday Business Post and Unique Media, is offering a €15,000 advertising and communications package to one lucky budding entrepreneur. This national competition aims to recognise and reward people who have taken a chance in "Doing it for themselves" and are forging ahead in business and in life in spite of the current economic difficulties.

BOOK OF THE DAY: FEARGAL QUINN reviews Shooting For Tiger By William Echikson Public Affairs 269pp, $24.95

"Don't your daughter on the stage Mrs Worthington” were the words of a Noel Coward music- hall song. Substitute golf course for music hall and then read Shooting for Tiger. The book is full of anecdotes about young golfers and the influence that golf has had on their lives. It’s a book about young American golfers but could well apply here too. The real meat is in the behaviour of parents who dote on their offspring and devote time and money in the hope of producing another Tiger Woods...

Navan will shortly have its own 'Business Watch" programme as the local Chamber of Commerce Commerce is launching the initiative in the town.

Entertaining and valuable account of how to play the Trump card

A few months ago I played golf on a spectacular golf course in the Caribbean called the Trump International Golf Club and was impressed at the huge investment in such a faraway resort.I questioned the gamble of putting so much money into such a venture and the confidence of somebody to do that.So, with an inquisitive mind, I picked up Think Like a Champion to see if I could learn more about this man who appears to succeed at every project he pursues; real estate, entertainment, golf course development and TV – all seem to respond to his Midas touch...

EU must be involved because this issue affects the secular lives of most citizens.

Lasy year, Easter fell so early (March 23rd) that it caused a major inconvenience to most people. As the parents of schoolchildren will remember, their kids were hardly back after Christmas when it was already time for the mid-term break. And they started their Easter holidays even before St Patrick’s Day.

That is a big problem for the tourism industry and for its customers - it means that every year they have a different product to sell, and every year the post-Easter early summer period starts at a different time...