Bertie's pay rise:I would blame the idiots that voted him back in before I would blame Bertie.

Like the majority of Irish politicians, he is just trying what he knows he'll get away with, and probably being admired by the many morally vacant in Ireland that have a soft spot for "cute hoors". - Alan Fitzpatrick

Christmas already?

I remember in my childhood (and I'm only 32) the excitement when the first decorations went up in the shops in early December and on December 8th, the lights would go on and Santa would arrive into the shop. In our house, the Christmas tree went up two Saturdays before the big day. Christmas lasted one month tops. It was special.

This weekend, I saw the Christmas decorations up in Next in Limerick. And I don't mean decorations for sale. I mean the shop window was decorated for Christmas. Two months to go and the window was decorated. As they don't come down until mid-January, this means Christmas now lasts for one-quarter of the year. They have taken the special time that is Christmas and have spread it so thinly that kids these days don't realise anything special is happening.

But it's not only the shops. I am dreading the annual battle in our housing estate. There are a couple of houses and you can see the inhabitants are just itching to put up their displays. They want to be first so if they have any new high-voltage display then any neighbour who also purchased the system will be copying them. Therefore from early November planes coming into Shannon will be blinded by blinking Santas. If the Government can ban fireworks from Halloween, surely they can ban Christmas from November. Please! - Colm

Ryanair

Why does Ryanair charge €3 each way for a credit card transaction when there is only one transaction? Buy a single fare and it is only €3. - Hugh Fortune