Sir, – Fine Gael is the largest party but is a long way from the majority necessary to form a government. The onus of governing rests with every TD, and that includes those in Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats (which has three seats but acts as if it actually won the election), Labour, Anti-Austerity Alliance – People Before Profit, members of the Independent Alliance and any other Independents.
Pressure is already being brought to bear on Fine Gael to act “for the good of the country”. The party has been doing just that for the past five years, and it is time that this responsibility was taken by other parties and individuals. Government is a thankless business.
Our esteemed President must also play a role in bringing all those elected together. He had lots to say in the run-up to the election. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET LEE,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – It is said that voters get the politicians they deserve. Unfortunately the corollary does not apply. – Yours, etc,
CYRIL McNAMEE,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Has anyone noticed that 70 per cent of the people voted for the abolition of Irish Water? – Yours, etc,
CONAN DOYLE,
Kilkenny.
Sir, – The election outcome has been a great boost for democracy, as it has finally broken the two-party stranglehold, with the result that the Dáil could become much more relevant and effective . – Yours, etc,
BRIAN FLANAGAN,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The whingers have spoken! – Yours, etc,
TONY O’CONNOR,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I know that some people are predicting that the next administration will not last very long following last Friday’s election, but I do wish that commentators on radio and television would cease referring to “the 30-second Dáil”. – Yours, etc,
JACK MORRISSEY,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – Is there anything less edifying than the sight of successful Dáil candidates being lifted shoulder high and waving like idiots? – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL HEALY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Paul Murphy and other “left-wingers” have claimed victory and called for a Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil government. Yes, indeed, very left wing. – Yours, etc,
GARETH SMYTH,
Louisburgh,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – Governments often merge, restructure, or create new organisations to implement objectives. The corporate and non-profit sector does the same. The best from the past is carried forward to reinvent and build a better future.
So why should not, in this historic year, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael merge and build a new organisation, a new name, new leadership and a new vision for the future? Or do I dream the undreamable and think the unthinkable? Surely what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander? – Yours, etc,
ENDA O’COINEEN,
Prague.
Sir, – Michael Healy Rae’s mantra that “It’s all about being a servant to the people that elect you” raises important questions. Why do we need a large public service when we have some highly paid TDs looking after the needs of their constituents? What about the needs of people in constituencies where TDs do not have the time or the inclination to deal with parish-pump issues because they are busy dealing with national policy issues? Is this a level playing field for citizens or politicians? For example, some members of the Oireachtas banking inquiry paid a huge price at the ballot box for the time devoted to the pursuit of integrity and truth. – Yours, etc,
JIM GLEESON,
Banyo,
Queensland,
Australia.
Sir, – Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil swap seats and the Left is more fragmented. We know most people do not want to pay for water, but there is little change. – Yours, etc,
FRANK O’CONNOR,
Glenageary,Co Dublin.
Sir, – No one could deny that there are many social issues that need to be rectified in this country. However, listening to the leaders’ debates and interviews with the candidates, one would begin to believe that no one was content or happy in Ireland. Contentment and happiness cannot always be measured by just economics. All sections of society have to find meaning and purpose in life. Issues like loneliness, mental illness, alcoholism, and so on, do not discriminate in terms of who they affect. It is time that we all, whether on the left or the right, try and create a country where we all feel content and even happy. It’s not just the responsibility of the government. – Yours, etc,
ANNE MARIE MORAN,
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – Watching the denouement to the general election, I wonder if the Taoiseach recalled the observation attributed to Jean-Claude Juncker while prime minister of Luxembourg: “We all know what to do, we just don’t know how to get re-elected once we’ve done it”. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Belgooly, Co Cork.
Sir, – Had “Let’s keep the recovery going” been “Let’s get the recovery going”, we might be looking at a different outcome today.– Yours, etc,
PARAIC CORBETT,
Shankill,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – Kudos to irishtimes.com for the timely and accurate reporting of the various counts and results in the general election. Your website and results hub were easily accessible, detailed and readily understandable. The Irish abroad thank you. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN J DONOHOE,
Naperville, Illinois.
Sir, – After many hours of radio and TV coverage, and more to come, it’s touch and go between “on the doorsteps” and “the national interest”. But the runaway winner, with several quotas, is certainly “in terms of”. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’HAGAN,
Bray, Co Wicklow.
A chara, – Great to see John Bowman back on television. I missed those colourful ties. RTÉ should do itself a favour and bring him back permanently. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DORAN,
Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Sir, – This Fine Gael/Labour government got kicked, the Fianna Fáil one before it got kicked, but the one coming up is going to get the biggest kicking of all. Why? Because the real crash is going to come on its watch. The world economic situation is in far worse shape now than in 2008; overproduction is destroying business and trade, growth is neither wanted nor possible in a world where supply continually exceeds demand, and automation is eliminating work on a truly massive and accelerating scale. But politics is in denial; economists have convinced everyone it’s all just a matter of getting the money right. But it isn’t; modern technology has turned economic ideology on its head and only colossal and increasing debt (banks a decade ago, quantitative easing now) keeps the whole thing from imploding. But increasing debt can’t go on indefinitely. There is no use fighting economic change; the only solution is to adapt. Forgive the debt; restrain rather than “grow” (increase) output; learn to live with sufficiency; generate more employment from less work.
So 2008 was not a “recession”; it was the impact of not being able to cope with enormous economic change; changing from shortage to surplus, from growth to sufficiency and from work to automation. This is not “recovery”; it is more like “remission”, that cruel imitator of “recovery” which proceeds even greater collapse. We can’t stop change; we can’t uninvent technology. The only course of action is to adapt economic ideology to cope with an entirely new economic order. We have achieved enormous economic success and an abundance of practically everything without having to work very hard. Pity we can’t see and enjoy it. – Yours, etc,
PADRAIC NEARY,
Tubbercurry,
Co Sligo.
Sir, – There has been no lack of comment explaining why the Labour Party and Fine Gael did so badly in the election. I have been, so far, unable to locate in the coverage any mention of what I see as one of the main reasons, ie the anti-Christian (dare I say anti-Catholic?) bias of sections of the Labour/Fine Gael coalition. Many of the electorate have been saddened by their attitude to faith schools, to the imposition of social policies without the benefit of free Dáil votes, and to verbal attacks on those who they know are unlikely to hit back. Ireland is still a Christian country, and politicians should be aware of that. – Yours, etc,
ROSE MARY LOGUE,
Dundrum,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Now that everyone seems to be in agreement that the “earthquake” election has changed everything in Irish political life, I, for one, am really looking forward to the two poll-topping parties working together. The fresh voices of O’Dea, Noonan, Ó Cuív, Kenny and Martin are exactly what the country needs right now. And on the opposition side of the Dáil, I believe there are a couple of brothers from Kerry who are so down with the kids they will be wearing baseball caps into the Dáil. Brave new world. – Yours, etc,
CIARAN McATEER,
Rathgar, Dublin 6.
Sir, – The TDs of the outgoing Dáil spent the last five years working to make this a better country. Granted, some have worked harder than others. Some have given all of their time and energy, to the exclusion of their families and friends, to make things happen, to improve our lives and save the country from financial disaster. The opposition, even if sometimes to our irritation, kept the administration on its toes. A big thank you to all, winners and losers, should be the message one of these days. They deserve at least that. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA DEEGAN,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – Listening all Saturday morning to the pre-count predictions of all the wonderful and hardworking tallymen, they must be delighted to get away from all those bananas for a while. – Yours, etc,
ROWLAND REECE,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – My congratulations to Fianna Fáil not on their election results but on the prompt removal of all their posters in the Waterford area. Not a one to be seen after midday on Saturday! Others, please copy. – Yours, etc,
GERALDINE KELLY,
Woodstown,
Waterford.
Sir, – Our caretaker government will have much to occupy itself over the coming weeks.
I am therefore making myself available to represent my country at any of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations abroad. I will leave the selection of the city to whoever makes these decisions. However, the decision-makers may feel that the generosity of my offer should be matched by ensuring that the chosen city cannot be reached by Ryanair. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McDWYER,
Carrick on Shannon,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – It appears as if Enda and his people fell into their own fiscal space. – Yours, etc,
HUGH MULLAN,
Strandhill,
Co Sligo.