Sir, – Finally the European Commission/European Central Bank have understood what “European Financial Stabilisation” actually means. It is incredible that up to now they tried to tighten the screw by instability-inducing, usurious rates of interest.
It seems that the centre cannot hold and nothing is certain anymore. It is in times like these historically that revolutions have occurred. Let’s have a bloodless one, forgive everybody (and their debts) and start with a bright new morning. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The photograph in the business section of The Irish Times on September 13th that accompanied the article on the new Greek property tax reveals a great deal as to that country’s poor adherence to legislation.
The photograph shows a construction worker on top of a building and about to step on to a narrow plank of an unfinished scaffolding structure with no hand rails. The worker is not wearing a safety helmet even as the arm of a high-rise crane swings overhead. Work tools attached to the worker appear to be in danger of coming loose and causing injury to his colleagues below.
It appears the basic health and safety requirements for a building site are been totally ignored. I think the snapshot sums up the prevailing attitude in that country, which is one of a population that refuses to conform and a government that fails to enforce. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The response of Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore to the comments of Jürgen Stark, who pointed out that Irish public service employees enjoy superior remuneration to that of their peers in other euro countries that are funding the Irish government deficit, is deeply disturbing (Home News, September 13th).
Mr Gilmore dismisses these comments as “annoying”; he would do better to acknowledge the undeniable truth of Mr Stark’s observation. He needs also to recognise the unpalatable fact that Ireland simply cannot afford the public employee remuneration packages that the previous inept Fianna Fáil administration has saddled this country with.
It would be disastrous for this country if the Coalition were to shirk from addressing this issue in the upcoming budget, as Mr Gilmore’s reaction suggests may be their intention. At the recent general election, Fine Gael and Labour each undertook to provide responsible economic leadership; delivery on that commitment now requires that the difficult matter of adjusting public employee remuneration be confronted. The worry must be that the Coalition may procrastinate on the matter – the consequence of which would be that the adjustment, when it does comes, as it inevitably must, will be all the more painful. – Yours, etc,