Animals have been culled in their thousands to protect our flocks and herds from foot-and-mouth, some of our drinking water is not fit for consumption, consumerism is voracious and a trail of rubbish is left behind.
Duncan Stewart takes off his architect's cap and dons a green one to see how environmentally friendly the Republic is in The State We're In (Tuesday, 7 p.m., RTE1).
The amount of personal debt Irish people hold has increased dramatically over the past five years, but if Alvin Hall had his way we would all get our credit cards back to zero and pay no interest.
Your Money Or Your Life (Wednesday, 8 p.m., BBC2) takes consumers step by painful step nearer to a sensible budget.
And with the current account back in the black and credit cards paid off, there might even be some money left to save in one of the special savings accounts being introduced next month.
The increase in property stamp-duty rates to 9 per cent has reduced the number of investors and the supply of rental homes is inadequate.
House Hunter (Thursday, 8.30 p.m., RTE1) follows a couple and a baby as they face eviction - things are so bad they are thinking of emigrating.
sokelly@irish-times.ie
