Fianna Fáil: the Banana Republican Party...
THE debacle over the children’s hospital has shown once again that we are indeed a Banana Republic.
The only difference between us and a genuine Banana Republic is that they turf out, or even jail, those who make colossal cock-ups with taxpayers’ money, whereas here the ruling party just shrug their shoulders and vote confidence in those responsible.
The most laughable aspect of this fiasco is that Fianna Fáil, our so-called Opposition party, will not vote in any no-confidence motions on the grounds of national interests whilst in the middle of Brexit negotiations.
Who in their right mind would have any trust that the current politicians are the right people to carry us through Brexit, if they cannot sort out a mess they created themselves? S. HOLLAND,
Dublin 9.
Church sex abuse
THE painful piecemeal steps taken so far to deal with child sex abuse in the Church drag on interminably. The bounce of all the agony, the heart of the diabolical evil, still lies hidden in the Vatican archives.
Until the curia’s locked doors are thrown open for the world to see, the Pope and hierarchy are still only reluctantly scratching the surface.
Has the compulsory celibacy of the all-male clergy anything to do with it? L. McELGUNN, by email.
One law for big debtors...
OUTSTANDING... Revenue is owed €4.3billion’ said the headline (Mail, Tuesday). How is it that this money owed to the State can accumulate to such a high amount?
I was a week late paying my property tax and I received a nasty letter from the taxman demanding all the money owed be paid in one go as my monthly payments were cancelled due to me being late with one payment, or I would be taken to court and would have to pay court costs on top of the property tax owed.
Looks like if I owed millions, it would be a different story.
The €4.3billion is owed for over a decade and still the taxman drags his feet collecting the money. I am late with owing €10 and I am threatened with court.
The €4.3billion owed belongs to the public purse which the taxman is paid from to collect all taxes owed.
So why is it that the taxman will threaten a pensioner over €10, yet do nothing about someone who owes millions?
It makes one think twice about the taxman. DAVID BURKE, by email.
Vile ideology
I AM a former Pakistan Test cricketer and now a loyal British citizen who has lived in the UK for 40 years.
I urge the British government not to allow the return of any Isis sympathisers.
Shamima Begum should have thought twice before going to Syria to join Isis, criminals who kill innocent people.
Finding herself in the hell hole of a war zone, she wants to return to the UK to get NHS care and social welfare benefits.
Letting her return to Britain would only encourage others to follow in her footsteps.
She is arrogant, insisting she does not regret going to Syria, instead of apologising to the British people. QASIM OMAR,
Manchester.
Cannabis ‘snake oil’?
WOLLONGONG University in Australia has found that the active ingredient in shop-bought cannabis products, cannabidiol (CBD), is psychoactive.
Craig Mackinlay MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group investigating the effects of cannabis on the brain, said: ‘This is a startling revelation.
‘For many years we have been told that THC was the key cause of cognitive issues stemming from cannabis, and that CBD held the “holy grail” of benefits.’ It’s worth noting this as the trend/fad for using cannabis oil continues to grow here in Ireland.
GRÁINNE KENNY, Co. Dublin.
Mixed priorities
DO people on the point of shuffling off this mortal coil concern themselves with ‘global warming’ and the general health of the planet?
Or are their minds more concentrated on their own issues at hand without a thought for a living world saying goodbye to them? ROBERT SULLIVAN, Bantry, Co. Cork.
Impeach Trump now
ACCORDING to The New York Times, Donald Trump asked his acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker if a counsel of his choosing could be put in charge of the investigation into so-called ‘hush money’ payments handled on his behalf by ex-fixer Michael Cohen.
The president responded to the story with his usual bombast on Twitter, branding the newspaper ‘a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’.
At what point are the American people going to decide to stop making fools of themselves globally, and finally impeach this poisonous cretin? G. CARROLL, Co. Dublin.