When the Iron curtain was torn down 10 years ago Europe was transformed. The Money Programme (Sunday, 6.40 p.m., BBC2) examines how the German economy has been affected by the reunification and the burden of propping up East Berlin. From Russia, Jonathan Charles reports on how crime and corruption are destroying the creation of a working economy.
With the explosion of Internet shopping, Sgt Basit Javid shows The Crime Squad: Money Troubles (Monday, 7.30 p.m., BBC1) how easily criminals fraudulently buy goods over the Net, using little more than the details from a discarded shopping receipt. The programme also reveals that half of the thefts from stolen credit cards take place after they have been cancelled.
There is a very high rate of property ownership in the Republic and land can be an emotive issue. Ear to the Ground (Monday, 8.30 p.m., RTE 1) investigates a 10-year battle involving the Blasket Island and setting up a national park. Former Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey had big plans for the island which became unstuck when the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the 1989 National Historical Park Act was unconstitutional.
London's Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world and managing director, Mr Roger Cato, is responsible for running it. He goes Back to the Floor: Down to Earth (Thursday, 9.00 p.m., BBC2) to spend a week dealing with his customers. The programme looks on while he deals with angry passengers, a customer who changes her baby on a restaurant table and an unattended goldfish.
sokelly@irish-times.ie
