Government faces second ‘own goal’ over schools
THE hastily rushed through legislation by our new Government in order to award themselves big pay increases was, in hindsight, a massive ‘own goal’ on their behalf.
At the same time, they stopped social welfare payments to recipients as they jetted off to the sun at our international airports.
It appears that there is one law for the rich and another law for the poor in our State.
This coming after the publication of a ‘green list’ of countries where people could supposedly travel safely to, while at the same time discouraging them from going, and asking them to staycation and holiday at home in the rain. What mixed messaging. A classic fudge.
After a month of unseemly squabbling over senior ministerial appointments to the Cabinet table, we are now being told that the schools will be opened in a month’s time.
As laudable and all as this policy is, there may not be sufficient time for the schools to get their ducks in a row in order to achieve that objective within this time frame. Remember, Covid-19 is still lingering in the long grass.
Why was the summer allowed to slip by without major works being carried out at our schools in order to be fully ready for reopening at the end of August?
Prolonged government talks perhaps? If they push too hard too quickly on this one, they could end up shooting themselves in the foot again, and concede a second ‘own goal’ in the space of a few weeks. TOM TOWEY, Co. Sligo.
I’ve had my fill of Greens
THE Rainbow Coalition was born after a three-month pregnancy and now take a well deserved holiday before the parents have a nervous breakdown caused by a Green ‘only child’.
The above ‘Kellyspeak’ endeavours to bring a touch of humour to a situation that is not funny and beyond serious.
After a mind-boggling few weeks with Martin and ‘Cowengate’, Varadkar and The ‘Governey’ Car, and The Greens with a close leadership crisis, one felt certain that things had to improve as they could not get worse. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
In my ignorance I believed that Neasa Hourigan was a member of the new Rainbow Coalition and not a tsunami ever ready to drown the new Government and make her leader Eamon Ryan look like a fool.
To vote against her party and the Government clearly showed she was a quick learner and knew how to press the button of both electoral contempt and mé féinism. She should be an Independent as she obviously has her own agenda devoid of realpolitik and is uncaring as to how her actions look. She was a PR disaster, measuring ten on the Richter Scale.
She also showedthat she clearly was a member of dissident Greens and had no idea of the collective responsibility and compromise necessary when in government. JOHN P. KELLY, Dublin.
Space age solution
THE first NASA water landing since 1975 in the SpaceX capsule was widely reported in many newspapers yesterday.
It brings back memories of the US government’s Apollo programme, moon landings, and John F. Kennedy, the president who inspired it all.
Move forward to the present and you have a privately supported space programme, moon landing conspiracies and a president that does not inspire and does not really listen to scientists.
Who should we send on a oneway trip to Mars?
I can suggest one obvious candidate... DENNIS FITZGERALD, by email.
Minister’s bum note
IN yesterday’s Irish Daily Mail, Minister Heather Humphreys said: ‘I have asked MY officials...’
They’re not HER officials, they’re OURS! She says people who have jobs that will never come back need to ‘reskill’.
Now, how will singers, musicians and songwriters ‘reskill?’ Carpentry, or dressmaking?
Politics is the job for them: no skill or training required.
Heather is highly skilled at putting her foot in her mouth! PHYL KENNEDY, Galway city.
Bus capacity problem
BUS ÉIREANN’S warnings of capacity problems (Irish Daily Mail, Friday) certainly ring true on the Dublin/Limerick service, with buses frequently unable to take all those waiting in Nenagh, for example.
What is puzzling, though, is that not only are the buses operating at half capacity but Bus Éireann also reduced the frequency of services on this route.
This would suggest that there are unused buses and drivers lurking somewhere.
Why not revert to the normal pre-Covid frequency or, failing that, double up on the buses? MIKE ROYCROFT, Nenagh.