When the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, unveils his Budget on Wednesday, RTE will be waiting in the wings. Coverage on RTE 1 starts with Budget '98, 3.45 p.m. to 6 p.m., with further analysis and reaction from 9.30 p.m. to 10.10 p.m. The Budget speech will be carried live, as usual, on RTE Radio 1, MW only, from 3.45 p.m.

From fashion to china and glassware, the designs of Waterford woman Sybil Connolly have earned international acclaim. Ambassador of Design, RTE 1, Wednesday, 10.10 p.m.-10.40 p.m. looks at how her talent, charm and business acumen have contributed to her success.

Customers who want a tree, and want it fully grown now, are fuelling the growth of Nangal and Neeson, a Cork-based nursery specialising in the supply of mature trees. It too has won international kudos, planting 70ft. trees in some of Europe's most prestigious gardens, reports Ear to the Ground, RTE 1, Tuesday, 8.30 p.m.-9 p.m.

Does capitalism contain the seeds of its own destruction? In the second in a series of pilot talk shows, David Aaronovitch discusses this issue with Ian Angell, Prof of Information Systems at the London School of Economics; and Susan George, of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, in The Big If, Channel 4, tomorrow, 11.30 p.m.-12.30 a.m.

While Scare Stories, BBC 2, Thursday, 9.25 p.m.-10.15 p.m., looks at the hotly disputed facts of global warming, another series critical of environmentalism, Against Nature, starts by putting forward the case for industrialisation, on Channel 4, Sunday, 8 p.m.-9 p.m.

Finally, it's time to wave goodbye to lost luggage - if a new airport baggage-tagging system can deliver on its promise. The smart cards' scheme features in Tomorrow's World, BBC 1, Wednesday, 7.30 p.m.-8 p.m.