Madam, – Fianna Fáil’s collapse in your latest opinion poll is not because we citizens do not realise how much is wrong with our country and how much trouble our economy is in, and do not like what needs to be done. It is because it has become clear to us that the Taoiseach and his ministers are not competent to deal with what we face.
The Government has no strategy and no credibility and the financial institutions, recognising weakness and indecisiveness, will do their best to ignore it. The damage that is being done to our reputation and to all our futures is simply terrifying.
We have a Government which holds office but not authority and we may have to wait more than three years before a general election must be called. Eamon de Valera warned that Charles Haughey would destroy Fianna Fáil. Will Fianna Fáil have destroyed us before that election comes? – Yours, etc,
Madam, — The people of Ireland have addressed the special needs of the Irish banks, at great expense. Perhaps, at a very small fraction of the sums involved, the banks in turn might offer to pay for the special needs of children so callously let down by the Government. — Yours, etc,
Madam, – Reading The Irish Timesonline last Friday, I knew, even before clicking my mouse, that the author of the article entitled "Cowen fills our need for strong father figure" was John Waters. Must everything Mr Waters writes relate to fatherhood?
I have a father. What I don’t have at the moment is a Taoiseach. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is perhaps not surprising, given the dramatic events in the financial sector, that there should be an apparent lack of public interest in Anthony Gormley’s proposed 150-foot-high sculpture in the River Liffey, which has been given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanála, but may be deferred on grounds of expense. It could well, however, turn out to be the appropriate monument for these interesting times.
Gormley is renowned for elegant, sarcophagus-like castings made from his own body, and in particular for his Angel of the North, a metamorphosis of man and machine which, it is generally agreed, succinctly captures the indomitable spirit of the North of England.
Would the metal man in the Liffey do the same for contemporary Ireland? In contrast to the brave stance of the Angel of the North, the pose of Liffey Man seems humble and subdued. The skeletal figure stands ankle deep in the incoming, or receding, tide, head bowed, hands cupped defensively over crotch. It is the demeanour of the condemned prisoner, the repentant prodigal – even (if such exists) the contrite investment banker caught with hand in till.
The metal man would admirably capture the spirit of the times; we should put it up immediately. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The rationale for the huge salaries and bonuses of our leading bankers appears to have been the retention of talent. It’s a pity, then, that this talent was not encouraged to go away and wreak its havoc elsewhere. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If most of those miscreant bank executives can somehow manage to hold on to their exceedingly lucrative jobs, they’ll be doing very well indeed; anything else would be, er, a bonus. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is time to move beyond the detailed debate on what should or should not be done to solve our economic woes.
I acknowledge, firstly, that the Government finds itself in a very complex and multi-faceted situation. Secondly, we the ordinary citizens of Ireland do not know the facts and nuances of this complex situation, and consequently it is highly unlikely we can know its solutions.
However, we do know that if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it most probably is a duck. Likewise, if some one behaves as though they are economically inept and sounds economically inept, most likely they are economically inept. Our economic situation is far too grave for the citizens to have to tolerate the ongoing ineptitude of our leaders, and in particular the Minister for Finance.
To learn that Mr Lenihan did not read “all” of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on Anglo Irish Bank must be the final straw. Surely, it is time for him to resign or be sacked by the Taoiseach.
Without knowledgeable and skilful economic leadership the long-term consequences of our current crisis may be catastrophic. We are at a historic milestone on a par with 1916, the Famine or Cromwell’s campaign. The Taoiseach must put personal, political, and party egos aside and reshuffle his Cabinet, at the very least. History will not be kind to Mr Cowen if he dithers when the citizens of this Republic are in desperate need of competent leadership. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – When Pat Kenny Co say in RTÉ’s current advertising campaign that “we’ve got the nation talking”, do they mean about their salaries? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Now that consumer prices are falling, I assume the unions will be seeking a pay reduction in line with this trend, in the same way they demanded pay increases to maintain their workers’ standard of living in the face of inflation in years gone by. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is interesting that banks refer to bad loans as “impairments”, almost as if the loans simply went bad as a result of old age. An entirely different style is used when those banks apply to the courts to have homes repossessed on the foot of bad loans. Borrowers are labelled as “defaulters”, almost as if the mortgage-holders set out deliberately to lose their homes. A fine example of double-entry accounting. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Both AIB and the Bank of Ireland have very substantial art collections (about 5,000 works altogether). Perhaps the taxpayers of this country could have them as a token gesture from reckless organisations with little else left to offer — or are they ours now anyway? – Yours, etc,