Sir, – One has to feel sorry for Enda Kenny. Having failed to abolish the Seanad, it now appears that the Seanad may well abolish him. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McDWYER,
Summerhill,
Carrick on Shannon,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – What this episode demonstrates conclusively is the hollowness of the claims made for “new politics” in the wake of the crash. The concept of civic morality is as alien to Fine Gael in office as it was to Fianna Fáil. Crony governance lives on in the shape of elite patronage and a posture of determined impunity at the highest levels of power. – Yours,etc,
Dr JOHN O’ BRENNAN,
Department of Sociology,
Maynooth University.
Sir, – Of course it is a stroke. How do we know this? We know this because if Fianna Fáil in government had behaved in this way, Mr Kenny in opposition would be on his feet in the Dáil, pink and breathless with outrage. – Yours, etc,
MAEVE KENNEDY,
Rathgar Avenue,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir , – I don’t see the problem with our taoiseach’s nominations. Don’t all teachers have their pets! – Yours, etc,
DAVID MURNANE,
Dunshaughlin,
Co Meath.
Sir, – The current furore is nothing more than a tantrum by people who hadn’t fully thought through the consequences of their actions in preserving the undemocratic obscenity that is Seanad Éireann.
Most ludicrous is the charge that John McNulty isn’t “hip” enough to serve on the cultural panel and debate such lofty ideas as seagulls stealing ice cream and other such nonsense. – Yours, etc,
TOM NEVILLE,
Leopardstown Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Perhaps John McNulty might have made a better choice by resigning his candidacy for the Seanad and maintaining his board post in the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma). He would at least have learned some cultural nuggets from the dormant oddities of the museum rather than their equivalent in the Seanad. – Yours, etc,
DEREK MacHUGH,
Westminster Lawns,
Foxrock, Dublin 18.
Sir, – Noel Whelan is right when he says that the NcNulty affair is “cronyism” and a “stroke” (“McNulty debacle exposes sorry tale of failure to reform politics”, Opinion & Analysis, September 26th). But when he gets up on his high horse and starts to call for “meaningful Seanad reform”, he loses a lot of credibility.
“Reforming” the Seanad, by having it directly elected and giving it more power, is just creating another Dáil. We already have one of those.
The Seanad is an expensive, powerless, talking shop for the insider elite.
All the reform proposals in the world will not make the Seanad relevant to the problems of this recently bankrupt country, which has many more politicians relative to population than similar countries.
Members of the media, who are now complaining about cronyism, should remember that during the referendum most of them supported the retention of the Seanad as a bolthole for their own cronies at the expense of the ordinary people of this country. – Yours, etc,
ANTHONY LEAVY,
Shielmartin Drive,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.
Sir, – Lest there be any doubt, as per Paul Hickey’s claim (September 26th), it is not John McNulty himself who is the problem, it is the manner in which he, out of all the people who could be considered suitable for the appointment to Imma, was chosen that is the problem.
As is the fact that there wasn’t a vacancy in the first place but instead the Imma increased the size of its board from 9 to 11 specifically to allow the appointment of two Fine Gael nominees, which presumably had to be signed off by Minister for the Arts Heather Humphreys’s department.
What is also at issue is the moaning from other women candidates who seem to think it’s okay for one of them to be appointed just because they are women and for some reason we need “more” women.
So much for more women in politics bringing a different ethos.
Well, we don’t need more women if they are like the Tánaiste and too gutless to call out cronyism when directly faced with it, with her limp defence that it’s a matter for Fine Gael; or like the Minister herself, who seems to just sign anything put in front of her and takes her orders directly from Fine Gael head office via the Taoiseach’s office; or if they are like the failed Fine Gael candidates who seem to think just being women should be enough to give them the edge, with no mention of capability.
The only criteria for appointing anyone to anything is that the position is publicly advertised so anyone can apply, that the application process is transparent, that those making the appointment can be held accountable, as too should the person appointed, and that the best person, male or female, is appointed.
Old politics meet new politics, but same old politics. – Yours, etc,
DESMOND FitzGERALD,
Canary Wharf,
London
Sir, – The “McNulty Installation” at Imma must rank with Tracey Emin’s “My Bed” as one of the great headline-grabbing cultural events of recent times. Unfortunately the McNulty exhibition only lasted for 13 days and closed on September 25th. I wonder might Charles Saatchi be interested in this unique installation?
After all, “My Bed” was sold recently for £2.2million and I’m sure Imma could do with some extra funding. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK O’BYRNE,
Shandon Crescent,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.
Sir, –Jobs for the boys? Unabated – and undebated. – Yours, etc,
TOM GILSENAN,
Elm Mount,
Beaumont,
Dublin 9.