Enough contrite politicians to clog Road to Damascus
IT MUST be reassuring for the faithful of the predominant church in this country to witness the adherence of politicians such as, most recently, Fine Gael’s Verona Murphy to the rectitude of the confessional.
Should a party member (especially one in pursuit of higher office) articulate their bad thoughts and prejudices pertaining to deprived, underprivileged or ethnic groups in our society, a public visit to an institution that supports the offended group a chastened apology, and a repentant statement as to a prior lack of knowledge and understanding – which henceforth will be atoned – will, it seems, gain a plenary indulgence from ‘the party’.
Thankfully, the electorate may decide on the appropriate penance in these situations.
Michael Glennon, Kilkenny City.
Irish failing students
Several months have passed since the Leaving Cert examinations of 2019 and, aside from the oncoming tide of Christmas presents and preparations, now’s the time that university students across the country are realising how inadequate some elements of their second-level education were.
In particular, many college students taking Irish as a subject have spoken to me about the jump in difficulty seen between the Leaving Cert and their new assignments, a stark contrast to the relatively smooth shift in languages such as French and German.
It’s no fault of the Irish teachers themselves; they’re welleducated, properly trained and certainly know their subject. But the continued decision to base the Irish curriculum predominantly around stories and poems instead of grounded topics like grammar, functional writing and everyday conversation, is beyond understanding.
Frankly, the only elements of the Irish LC exam that work in their current form are the oral and – at a stretch – the essay questions on Paper 1. The entirety of Paper 2 and the aural test on the other hand need to be remade from scratch as soon as possible, and replacements implemented that give a better understanding of the language’s many rules and structures to students… because otherwise, the language’s popularity and prevalence will continue to decline, and it’ll sink a few kilometres deeper into its grave.
Conor Clancy, Kilfenora, Co. Clare.
Too much on show?
JOE DUFFY on his radio show this week – while discussing people coming to breakfast in a hotel in pyjamas – stated that when he is on an outside broadcast he likes to take a swim before breakfast, and sometimes turns up for breakfast in shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops. A sight I’m sure, first thing on a winter’s morning, to put most other patrons in the dining room right off their porridge?
Denis Dennehy, Dublin.
Obeying the law is a safety hazard
I DRIVE at double the speed limit on the M50 every day. This is not unusual because almost all the drivers ignore the speed limit of 30kmh at the ramps onto and off the M50 and travel through the zone at more than double that speed.
I believe that if a driver were to observe the limit it would be dangerous, being out of sync with the traffic. Small wonder there is so little respect for speed limits with this blatant situation so widespread.
John Kavanagh, Ratoath, Co. Meath.
Insurance for cyclists
I WOULD agree 100% with Margaret Walshe (MoS letters, Nov. 17) about cyclists but she left out one thing – why don’t cyclists need insurance? Every one else who uses the road needs insurance so why not them?
Tom Kennedy, by email.
Sold a broadband pup
RURAL Ireland is dead right to be sceptical about the €3bn broadband rollout.
While the Government expenditure is impressive, claims high speeds will get to every corner of the country are optimistic. Broadband’s drawback is that the further away you are from the telephone exchange the slower it is going to be. Despite promise after promise, rural Ireland has had to pay and pay for a service that is totally inadequate and has them turning over one web page every few minutes or longer. Broadband in this country is extremely biased towards areas where there are high populations. In remote parts of rural Ireland, no such priority may be given.
Rural Ireland is no fool and will not be sold a pup if the Government comes up short on the cost and speed of broadband. The timescale for delivering this project is seven long years – and not in time for the Brexit challenges to kick in for businesses.
The cost is enormous and timescale too long for a service that may be inadequate for many parts of the country when it eventually arrives.
Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co. Cork.