A chara, – In his address to the Fianna Fáil commemoration of the 1916 Rising at Arbour Hill, the Taoiseach defended his stewardship of the economy by evoking republicanism – “Republicanism at its core means the interests of the nation must take precedence over everything else”.
This is not republicanism but nationalism, a point lost on a party that seems to believe it solely holds the mantle of what constitutes republicanism in this country. A republic should serve the interests of its people firstly and treat all its citizens equally. In light of the cut to the Christmas bonus for those on welfare, the recent Government U-turn on long-service bonuses for Oireachtas members in the face of opposition indicates that some are more equal than others in Mr Cowen’s Republic.
Mr Cowen asked the Irish people to take inspiration from those who sacrificed their lives for their fellow Irishmen and women. Considering the continuous indecision of our Government, numerous budgets, and failure to give adequate leadership, it is pertinent that Mr Cowen invokes inspiration from the leadership and sacrifice from a previous generation, as our current Government seems to be quite wanting in this regard. – Is mise,
ERIC CREAN,
Shandon Gardens,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.
Madam, – I am an old woman looking at my beloved country disintegrating around me. What has happened to Ireland? The country is stony broke and heading rapidly towards complete meltdown.
Our politicians are running about like headless chickens, oblivious to the chaos around them; oblivious to soul-destroying unemployment, the wastage and total failure of our fourth-world health service; oblivious to grossly overcrowded (and in some parts of the country even rat-infested) schools; oblivious to the huge rise in urban crime – drug dealing openly done on the streets of our capital city, and intimidation of tourists and natives alike on the city streets. It is so shaming to see the amazement on the faces of foreigners at the lawlessness here.
Vulnerable people – whole families – are being forced to leave their homes due to ferocious intimidation of young thugs. What does comfortable officialdom do? Just shrugs and ignores the whole thing. Seldom, if ever, does one see a garda “walking the beat” as of yore. Although, the gardaí must be fed up with a useless court system that leans over backwards to protect the “rights” of the criminal and seems to ignore the plight of the unfortunate victim.
Nothing changes. As a well-known American said, “The Irish have no sense of outrage.” Unless the country develops that sense of outrage very soon, I fear we will all be lost and forgotten. We must rid ourselves of the most overpaid and underworked government in the Western world, plus all their hangers-on, and replace them.
Is there anybody out there willing to take us on? Madam, let us pray. – Yours, etc,
M RYAN,
Ashleigh Gardens,
Skehard Road,
Cork.
Madam, – I am keenly aware of the connotations that the mere mention of Thatcher’s name carries in Ireland. Nevertheless the sheer scale of Ireland’s current economic collapse is eerily similar to 1970s Britain.
For the benefit of David Walker (April 25th) I will restate my point with a baroness-free analogy.
If the ATM tells me there is no more money available and my only option is to borrow heavily from the local moneylenders at exorbitant rates which I will be repaying for the rest of my (and probably my children’s) adult life, then I must radically reduce my spending. There is no other rational choice.
If my shortfall is €30 billion and two thirds of it relates to one large item of expenditure (in this case public sector salaries) this must be the first to be heavily curtailed – regardless of how unpalatable it may be.
The UK is having its own financial crisis, but its response has been to stimulate, not depress the economy – by cutting VAT, raising the stamp duty threshold, reducing public sector employment, allowing Sterling to collapse and only introducing a new 50 per cent tax rate on people earning above £150,000 (€170,000).
In the meantime, may I suggest Mr Walker travel to Venezuela where he can see the miracle of “socialist government for the people” in all its Utopian glory. – Yours, etc,
SHANE BRETT,
Charville Court,
Trafalgar Grove,
London.
A chara, – The many wise and wealthy economists who worked for banks and were given unlimited media platform as independent soothsayers of matters financial now stand accused of getting their forecasts wrong and failing to predict disaster. Maybe this is a bit unfair. They comforted us for years with reassurances that we faced a “soft landing”. This was spot-on. The country has indeed landed in something very soft: in fact, we are up to our necks in it.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan spoke recently of the marvel and amazement of Europeans at the savage tax rises and cuts he has imposed (Business Today, April 27th). He seemed to gush with pride at how we are taking it lying down, our national docility a form of patriotic pain-endurance it would seem. The French would have “rioted” if forced to take the same medicine as our public servants with the pension levy, he said.
The wisdom of such statements speaks volumes about the astuteness and arrogance of those in high office in Ireland, seemingly completely disconnected from ordinary people.
The riot is on its way, and is fuelled by such smug remarks which infuriate those enduring the pain visited on them by Mr Lenihan and his ilk: while the revolt won’t be on the streets, it will be in the form of a riotous response at the ballot box in June and October. – Is mise,
MÁIGHRÉAD Bean Uí PHLÉIMIONN,
Grange Court,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Madam, – Stephen Collins (Opinion, April 25th) wrote that in respect of last week’s Labour Party motion to restore the Christmas bonus to pensioners and other welfare recipients, not one TD suggested where the money would come from. That is untrue.
The motion itself specifically proposed “a restriction of interest relief on rental property, including restricton of relief on commercial properties”.
In my own contribution I listed several sources from which savings could more fairly be made, rather than cutting the Christmas bonus including: 1. Limiting relief on rental property, 2. Limiting the excessive tax relief on pensions for company directors, and 3. Limiting tax-exile status. Indeed, these were reported by your own newspaper the following day.
Furthermore, in the course of their contributions to the debate, my party colleagues Joan Burton, Mary Upton, Jan O’Sullivan, Ciaran Lynch, as well as party leader Eamon Gilmore, all outlined where the money would come from. – Yours, etc,
RÓISÍN SHORTALL TD,
Labour Party Spokesperson on
Social and Family Affairs,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2.