Madam, – I find it difficult to be convinced of the Government’s credibility when it fails to address the anomaly whereby a sitting TD or government Minister receives a pension from previously held office while continuing to receive a salary.
Such an arrangement would not be contemplated or tolerated in the private sector. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I welcome the resignation of Gerry McCaughey as chairman of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority as a chink of light in transforming corporate Ireland. While the structures put in place by him to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of his business were legal, they were not ethical. Mr McCaughey built a very successful business, but generous tax concessions were extended to him by the Irish taxpayer.
He defended his decision on RTÉ radio, calling it a “minor issue”. This is where senior Irish business people have failed us in recent years. If we are to transform our economy, the greed and disrespect to the Irish taxpayer displayed by Mr McCaughey and his ilk should no longer be tolerated. For all the criticism levelled at Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, at least he pays his taxes in Ireland. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Is Ireland edging towards an authoritarian regime? Questions and Answers has been axed. Opposition politicians are ordered not to question the Government while the Dáil is in session, but to take their accusations of corruption elsewhere. Unions are accused of committing “economic suicide” for one single day of strike action to defend their members’ rights. The perpetrator of a satirical prank, one that most people found to be no more than an amusing break from doom and gloom, was questioned by gardaí. Meanwhile, the powers that be struggle to find a legal framework for prosecuting or even naming errant bankers.
The RTÉ director general was called on by a Fianna Fáil TD to “consider his position” after a news report about the prank was broadcast. Meanwhile, Mary Harney remains in Cabinet.
What’s next? Will the HSE dispense happy pills to households to beat the recession blues and keep us docile and compliant? – Is mise,
Madam, – I was only vaguely concerned when I saw houses being built throughout the countryside; little more than uneasy when they brought in laws and tax schemes to assist their developer friends in selling the unsellable.
I was merely upset and annoyed when I saw our taxes being squandered by incompetence and bad government.
I was just sad when I saw our former taoiseach tell a tribunal that he won some of his unexplained money by betting on unnamed horses.
This week, RTÉ apologised to our political masters about some harmless satire, and police visited a radio station to find out who dreamed up a clever but harmless practical joke.
Now, I’m worried. I thought these things happened only in countries where the men with the beards tell the population how to think.
Roll on the next election. It won’t come a moment too soon for me. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The previous social partnership agreements did nothing to end the gross inequality in Irish society. If the trade union movement concludes a new agreement with this bankrupt Government the likelihood of achieving a more socially just Ireland is even more unlikely, given present conditions.
The present crisis is global, but with specifically Irish features, resulting from the policies of the present Government.
It is time for a new departure. If workers are to be called on to make sacrifices, we need to start thinking and acting independently of this Government and this crisis-ridden system. A socially just society is clearly not on the agenda of this Government, or any other potential coalition government, no matter what combination of parties makes it up. – Yours, etc,