Sir, – We are now just over a week away from the 2016 general election, and I must say I have been disappointed that I have not had the opportunity to engage with any candidate for my area.
Plenty of leaflets have been delivered in which candidates put forward their individual and party achievements and also their plans for the future, if elected.
As the candidates are essentially job applicants, one would expect that they would be open to some degree of job interview.
It is particularly important to engage with them as I have moved my vote to a new district. If I were cynical about it, I would say that the candidates of some parties were nervous about being seen in public. For the moment, I’ll remain optimistic that they have been so busy being interviewed by others that they haven’t had a chance to call in. – Yours, etc,
DESMOND GILHOOLY,
Sandycove,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – A 7 per cent lead for Fine Gael over Fianna Fáil equates to one minister, so that means eight Fine Gael and seven Fianna Fáil ministers. Enda for three years and Micheál for two. Stability for the country and a victory for political parties. – Yours, etc,
Dr KEN EGAN,
Ballindine,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – Micheál Martin strikes Patricia O'Riordan as the only leader in the televised election debates able to think on his feet (February 17th). Were he ever to achieve a government ministry again, it might therefore be a good idea to remove the chairs from around the Cabinet table. Having sat at it for 14 years ( 1997-2011), he shares responsibility for bequeathing a budget deficit of €20 billion, having inherited a surplus.
Debating style or speed of delivery is clearly no substitute for substance. – Yours etc,
PJ McDERMOTT,
Westport,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – Micheál Martin and many other political leaders are all claiming they will not enter into coalition with various other parties. Is anyone naive enough to believe them?
When the results of the election are announced, they will all be clamouring to get a bite of the cherry and go into government with anyone that will have them. – Yours, etc,
MIKE MAHON,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – The smaller parties and Independents will be excluded from the final leaders’ debate, leaving only Gerry Adams and his “Three Amigos” to participate. Would the programme be better described as an episode of “D’Unbelievables”? – Yours, etc,
LIAM QUINN,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Someone who contacted the Ryan Tubridy radio show suggested that politicians should be obliged to adopt the system of primary schools where a teddy bear is passed around and only the person holding the bear is allowed to speak. If this were enforced, listeners might actually be able to hear what is being said, instead of trying to cope with the bedlam of the politicians shouting one another down. I am sure there would be no shortage of volunteers to provide the teddy bears! – Yours, etc,
MARGARET BUTLER,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – We have had plenty of lights and cameras but little action in this election.
To me, action means someone who energises me to vote because he or she paints a vision of a better future.
This means to me, as a senior citizen, a better health service in which I am not frightened at the prospect of ending up in an emergency department. It also means that my children and grandchildren can look forward to some form of job security, and a reasonable pension for their endeavours, and not a zero-hours contract. It says that we have a strategy focused on retaining our talented young people and that guarantees that they won’t be burdened with long-term student loans. It says that there is equity in our society and that I, with many of my contemporaries, should not feel guilty that we as a society have failed our homeless. It says that we should not see armed forces on our streets, as we have in recent days, because we have failed to tackle organised crime over many years. It says that those who are responsible for failures in our society, whether it be in the financial, local government, or regulatory environments, are held to account. It says that there are many serious challenges facing our society, and Irish Water is not one of them.
The sad thing is that all our political entities seem to think that they can ignore these deficiencies and buy the electorate’s votes on ill-conceived and most likely undeliverable tax inducements and reductions. The lack of leadership and vision is extraordinary. The problem is that we as the electorate will be the victims, with the prospect of a hung Dáil and yet another election. – Yours, etc,
DEREK MacHUGH,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Perhaps less about fiscal space, and more about another space, a space called home – for all. – Yours, etc,
JOE McDONALD,
Ballyfermot,
Dublin 10.
Sir, – As published correspondence on the subject of the general election now accounts for 50 per cent of allocated space, I assume you are working towards an overall majority. – Yours, etc,
FRANK BYRNE,
Terenure,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – Could I rephrase that slogan as a question – where is the “recovery” going? – Yours, etc,
OLIVER McGRANE,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – I see Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has accused Fianna Fáil of “frightening people”. I doubt any party has more experience in that department than Sinn Féin! – Yours, etc,
STEVEN C SMYRL,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – With all the negative campaigning going on, why not extend the principle to us, the voters? In addition to filling in the ballot paper in order of first, second and third preference, and so on, for the candidates of our choice, why not use minus figures to indicate those we do not want to be elected? Could the PR system cope? – Yours, etc,
TONY CORCORAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Having given the matter serious consideration, I have decided to give my first preference to whichever candidate restores Doonesbury to your newspaper. – Yours, etc,
FRANK LYNCH
Limerick.
Sir, – Judging by the wind and rain damage to the ubiquitous election posters in the recent storms, it seems that God doesn’t think much of politicians either! – Yours, etc,
KIERON WOOD,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
A chara, – This morning, I got a leaflet from a candidate seeking election to the “national parliament”. When did this become an alternative to the Dáil? What next, MP instead of TD? Prime minister instead of taoiseach? Was it for this? – Is mise,
EILIS
NÍ ANLUAIN-QUILL,
Bré,
Co Chill Mhantáin.
Sir, – It is not surprising that during an election campaign the focus of the economic debate has primarily been on tax cuts versus spending increases? However, given the looming threats to the stability of the global economy, aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves?
There is no doubt that there is a massive need for investment in public services, and that many hard-pressed workers and families would be glad of a lower tax burden, but our options in this regard will dry up quite quickly in the event that there are changes to some of the favourable external factors that have driven the recovery so far.
Meanwhile, the debate among the parties that will form the next government has been entirely around domestic issues, and with the exception of Michael Noonan’s modest “rainy day fund”, there has been little more than lip service paid to developments beyond our shores.
What are the parties’ plans in the event of a Brexit? What, if anything, can we do to offset the impact of a slowdown in the Chinese economy? How can we become less reliant on foreign companies, which on a whim may decide to relocate?
It seems to me that our heads are still in the sand, and there’s nothing to prevent us from being dragged back into recession in the short term. – Yours, etc,
DAVE McGINN,
Islandbridge,
Dublin 8.