A sense of weariness with gombeen politics means I find it burdensome to comment on the farce that unfolded in the Dáil yesterday. Alas, events perhaps reflected Beckett's resigned observation: "The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new."

On the radio this morning, presenter Cathal Mac Coille attempted to shame arch-waffler Micheál Martin into admitting that by staying on as Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern had established a new (lower) standard for the ethical behavior expected of the second-highest office in the state. Unfortunately, Mac Coille phrased it by asking whether the standards of De Valera no longer applied. I, jaded and aware of Éamon de Valera's shenanigans with the Irish Press, muttered, "But he was a crook as well!"