We Irish are just happy to take part and not win!
I WATCHED with interest Irish snowboarder Seamus O’Connor’s interview with RTÉ after he failed to qualify for the final in the halfpipe men’s event. He said he was having a great time and now that he was out he was going to support the other Irish athletes. Well for some, you might say.
Later on BBC1, I saw an interview with Elise Christie, representing the UK, after she crashed out of the 500m short track final. She was inconsolable and couldn’t hold back her tears.
What was it Roy Keane said all those years ago about the Irish soccer supporters?
It seems the more things change, the more they remain the same!
TOMMY RODDY, Salthill, Co. Galway.
Pope moaners
I KNEW it wouldn’t be long before some of your readers would be objecting to the cost of the Pope’s visit (Letters, Tuesday).
There were no readers’ letters complaining about the cost of visits from other heads of state. Well, okay, there were some objections to the Queen’s visit in terms of cost. But this was an exception.
If a head of state from a Muslim country visited would there be any objections? No. I didn’t think so. Anyone who dared object would be accused of Islamophobia. Perhaps this latest reader suffers from ‘Catholicphobia’.
The Catholic Church is putting up €5million, and some money will come from the Catholic faithful for the visit. It’s also hoped that some will come from business companies. For the record the cost of the Queen’s visit was €4million.
Also, there will be a lot of revenue generated by the Pope’s visit for business for Ireland.
But no doubt the liberal snowflakes will have a field day on this subject. JOHN FINN, Ballincollig, Co. Cork.
Judges are failing us
YOUR paper has been at the forefront in recent times at highlighting the terrible injustices and irregularities in our criminal court rulings.
Time and time again you have shown how serious and serial offenders are been leniently treated by either suspended or deferred sentencing.
The efforts and the time spent by our under-resourced gardaí in bringing these unscrupulous thugs to court cannot be over-estimated.
Yet, our eminent judges can still sit on their high perches and rule with such leniency and inconsistency.
What they fail to realise or understand is that by pardoning these villains, they are deeming the rest of us guilty for existing as decent, law-abiding citizens. Shame on ye, judges! MAURICE SHERLOCK,
Waterford.
More Power to Brenda!
I WANT to congratulate Brenda Power on her article in connection to the current gangland feud and another follow-on funeral of another victim of violence (Mail, February 3).
We seldom hear of the great work carried out by out gardaí and the great risk to their lives they face every day when they take to the streets. All we hear is the negative aspects of the gardaí.
Sometimes a piece of journalism impresses you and I say it’s a pity we don’t have more of it to balance things out and have less negativity. Again, well done Brenda. MARGARET DONEGAN,
Clonsilla, Dublin 15.
Get tough on landlords
IT is worth pointing out that rents don’t rise by themselves and for once they are not increasing because of the Government. They are rising because of the greed of the people who have buy-to-let property. It’s a simple as that.
There is no moral justification for anyone with a buy-to-let property charging a level of rent above the cost of any outstanding mortgage, insurance and service fees. For the moaners: even if they did pay stamp duty or may pay capital gains tax when they sell up, they’ll still walk away with a large sum of money.
Where the Government can step in, of course, to stop rent rip-off is to require landlords to furnish Revenue with the amount of outstanding mortgage, the insurance contracts and service fee agreements, and the rent accounts – and where anyone is overcharging they should be taxed at 100%.
It’s the only way Irish people will learn that a property is not a short-term fast buck.
It can also remove the requirement for a deposit and cap mortgage lending at 100% of the property price, as there is no economic justification for a person paying rent of €2,500 per month to be denied a mortgage of €2,500 per month. It doesn’t solve the problem of finding a property but it does allow banks to lend on a case-by- case basis and be responsible lenders who know their customers.
If the Government is incapable, too lazy or unable to create a proper social housing sector that doesn’t turn into a ghetto, then invite help from those in that sector in countries who do know how to build large-scale social housing properly.
The key to preventing social housing from falling into squalor is in the service fee to maintain the property and environment around it. DESMOND FITZGERLD,
Canary Wharf, London.