Sir, – The chaotic interactions between Government Ministers in recent days can only be attributed to incompetence, dishonesty or acute amnesia, any or all of which would obviously render a person unfit for public office. – Yours, etc,
TONY BURKE,
Baldoyle,
Dublin 13.
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Sir, – Let me be very clear (smoke), we need to seek further clarification (mirrors), move forward (gone) and ensure this never happens again (forgotten). – Yours, etc,
ALAN ALCOCK,
Baltimore,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Is there nobody in the upper reaches of the Fine Gael parliamentary party who has the gumption to state the obvious and tell Enda Kenny that his time is up? Or are they all just a bunch of timid time-severs? – Yours, etc,
NUALA BYRNE,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – The Taoiseach has misled the country. His Ministers are at odds with him. The Garda commissioner is assessing her position. The leader (so-called) of the Opposition sits on his hands. Am I missing something? Surely in any half-baked democracy one or more heads would have rolled by now. – Yours, etc,
LIAM LYNCH,
Tralee,
Co Kerry.
Sir, – Has it come to this for our Taoiseach?
The last likely major engagement for Enda Kenny will see him offering up a bowl of greenery to a cheap mogul who, in a few short weeks, has already degraded the office of US president.
Talk about going with dignity! – Yours, etc,
OLIVER McGRANE,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – The consensus seems to be that Enda Kenny will be replaced as Fine Gael leader after his meeting with President Trump around St Patrick’s Day.
That’s a huge assumption to make. President Trump might be long gone before then. – Yours, etc,
CONAN DOYLE,
Pococke Lower,
Kilkenny.
Sir, – An unfortunate side-effect of recent events is that they throw into question the credibility of all of those folksy accounts by the Taoiseach of people he met “just recently” or “only yesterday” and what they said to him in confirmation of his success, and that of his Government. – Yours, etc,
TOM HOGAN,
Dublin 15.
Sir, – If people lied through their teeth to attack the character of Sgt McCabe, why would I expect any of them to tell the truth in a public forum? I believe that the truth will not out and that nobody will be held accountable or responsible for these vile allegations. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT MORRISSEY,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The sight of Enda Kenny squirming in his seat in Dáil Éireann was revealing. For all our sakes, he could now do the State some service and go. – Yours, etc,
JACK O’KEEFFE,
Tipperary.
Sir, – I’m totally disgusted with Enda Kenny. At the start on his election he promised to be open and honest with the public. How times have changed. He has destroyed his reputation with his account of his recollection regarding Sgt McCabe.
I note that the questions asked by the McCabes have not had any answers whatsoever. Is it not possible to have an investigator, before the tribunal begins, delve into these issues and others and come up with the names of those that have inflicted these obscene scenarios on members of the force ?
I also believe that this Government has brought this on itself by appointing an insider to the post of Garda commissioner instead of an outsider, which was an option at the time.
I know that it is now agreed to have a public inquiry regarding the McCabes but maybe the Government would consider another inquiry running along side the McCabe inquiry at the same time to deal with the other whistleblowers. – Yours, etc,
M McGUINNESS,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – Should Enda Kenny wish to survive as Taoiseach into late March I suggest he play his Trump card very soon. – Yours, etc,
FIONNTAN GOGARTY,
Ballina,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – Has the whistleblower blown the final whistle for Enda? – Yours, etc,
DAVID MURNANE,
Dunshaughlin,
Co Meath.
Sir, – The pay increases agreed for the Garda Síochána last year should now be suspended.
They can be reinstated when real reform has taken place and the State can afford it. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS HEGARTY,
Carryduff,
Belfast.
Sir, – Regarding the appalling revelations in the McCabe case, the Irish people now know for certain that Ireland is an island full of shark-filled cliques. – Yours, etc,
EUGENE HANDLEY,
Boyle,
Co Roscommon.
Sir, – We are finally to have a public inquiry into the scandalous treatment of Sgt McCabe.
I am sceptical of the outcome. Will it be like the tribunals of the past that cost the taxpayers millions, yet with no one being brought before the courts for their wrongdoing?
The only people to benefit were the members of the legal “profession”, with lawyers demanding fees of €2,000 per day for their learned services.
I feel it will just become another political whitewash. – Yours, etc,
MIKE MAHON,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – “Mea culpa”? Should that not read “Mayo culpa”? – Yours, etc,
JOHN CLUNE,
Drogheda,
Co Louth.
Sir, – The post-truth Irish society we are now experiencing was predicted by the witches in Macbeth when they sang "fair is foul and foul is fair". – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN BUTLER,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Yet another public inquiry? Whatever is uncovered, history shows that nobody will be charged with anything criminal, much less be found guilty.
Events in this county led to the creation of the Morris tribunal. There were people named in that report as having engaged in questionable behaviour. There appears to have been no further investigation, and those named can still be seen walking the streets. These inquiries and tribunals appear to me to be created, at great expense, with one aim and only one aim, ie to make sure that those to blame are let off the hook. – Yours, etc,
TONY CANNING,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – Further to "Varadkar and Coveney seek calm in push against Kenny" (February 16th), it seems as if there are now more newspaper articles being written about the turmoil within Fine Gael and what that party is going to do about Enda Kenny than there are reports about what the Government is not, but should be, doing to solve the countless extremely serious problems that are actually affecting people's lives, such as homelessness, people dying because of hospital waiting lists, and the potential fallout of Brexit for Irish businesses of all sizes.
The members of Government, the people who are supposed to make things happen, seem to be completely oblivious as to how anxious people really are about our future.
Let’s take Brexit as an example. If the Government has a taskforce of really experienced people who are working through the hundreds of extremely delicate but incredibly consequential issues that will affect the future of this country forever, it is not telling us. Shouldn’t we know if the Government is in daily contact with our allies in Europe and London?
All we hear is that Enda Kenny is going to stay on as the leader of the country because he is convinced that he alone can navigate us through the choppy Brexit waters ahead.
The Fine Gael party is using our time to solve its problems. I do not think this is fair, and I know the country deserves much better. – Yours, etc,
LULU CLEARY,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Politicians are elected and paid to protect the citizens. They need get over themselves and do what is right for the McCabe family without delay. – Yours, etc,
PAULINE HOLLAND,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.