Madam, – If we really care about our nation then at least a million of us should be in Merrion Square outside Government Buildings every Saturday between now and Christmas. We should stand in quietprotest for two hours, so that the world will know that we are proud to be Irish, proud to be free and proud to associated with the noble ideals expressed in our proclamation.
Or, we meekly bow our heads and join the delusion and denial of shameless leaders at the time of our greatest humiliation and do nothing. All we need do is stand for two hours outside Government Buildings on Saturday next and continuing Saturdays until Christmas. It should be an event that all will say they were there, when asked by future generations.– Yours, etc,
Madam, – In this game of international psychological poker, both Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan have, in my opinion, turned out to be a pair of world class aces.
In effect, they have both managed to pull one of the biggest financial coups/stings in recent times: by repeatedly stating to the world’s media that “we are not looking for” a bailout they have managed to scare the IMF, the EU, and the ECB into considering the nightmarish scenario that if Ireland defaulted on its loans and contagion spread to other countries then the European and other economies would undoubtedly be very seriously destabilised, and perhaps placed in peril.
This psychology resulted in all of them insisting that we take an astronomically huge loan with a relatively low interest rate attached. This Einsteinian strategy even managed also to fool the UK to the extent that they too are also eager to offer us a huge loan.
Now, if only our Minister for Health would announce to the world that we are not looking for any help from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in sorting out our health service . . . – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If Yeats is to be invoked surely the apposite quotation is: “You have disgraced yourselves again”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If all our heroes and patriots of old stopped turning in their graves we might get some stability. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If the bailout is successful, maybe the the punt will rise and we can get moving again. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I invite all those tired or frustrated with lack of choice and confidence in the state of our nation to discuss the issues with a new movement. A Facebook page “Nua – New Era, New Eire”, a democratic centrist movement, urges all those looking for a better future in Ireland to join and spread the word. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Many thanks for allowing your Letters page to become a outlet for national catharsis. It is interesting to note that many letters are looking beyond anger and towards possible solutions, including the oft-cited case for reducing the number of TDs to a politician/population ratio similar to our EU neighbours.
The consensus seems to be that 80 TDs would be sufficient. If such an eventuality occurs, it would also help if our TDs’ and Ministers’ salaries could be likewise equalised.
However, in classic cart-before-the-horse fashion we have been promised that the Government will address civil service staff reductions in the next budget.
Instead, why not consider civil service staff redeployment? We are currently experiencing the largest social welfare expenditure in the history of the State. Allocation of these funds is, to the best of my knowledge, administered by two bodies; Department of Social Protection and the HSE. All funds supplied to these agencies comes from the State; so why can we not have a single well-managed agency for their dispersal?
These freed-up, State-vetted employees could then be reassigned to operate, for example, as clerical, communications and back-room support to the Garda. Such a move would allow more gardaí to return to simply being our guardians. I’m sure Plato would approve! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is not surprising that RTÉ deferred the programme Would You Believeon Sunday night in favour of an extended The Week in Politics, because NO we would not believe! – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Following the several generous offerings of aid from other quarters, can I ask if anything has yet been heard from the Choctaw Nation? – Is mise,
Madam, – Before a cut in the minimum wage is even considered, let’s have a cut in the European maximum wage that our Taoiseach and TDs receive. Before pensions are touched, let’s have Dáil pension reform. Before frontline services suffer any more staff cuts, let’s restructure representation to reduce the number of TDs. – Yours, etc
Madam, – As we welcome Mr Chopra, isn’t it ironic to see an Indian come in to sort out the cowboys? – Yours, etc,