Cute hoor is alive and well but his days are numbered

THERE are now more fractures in Irish society than in the creaking water pipes linking the crumbling Vartry reservoir to Dublin. Looked at clinically, the result of the General Election reveals a country deeply divided between city and country, young and old, employed and unemployed, the establishment and the new order. In many ways the election has finally exposed the underlying cracks that have been emerging in Irish society over many, many years.

The new radical candidates were elected in large numbers in urban areas but none of them dared believe that they would be in power. And it is now quite clear that they are so dazzled and shocked by their unexpected success that they do not know what to do. Continuing to protest may not be an option.

Now they are inside the gates of Leinster House they cannot stand outside calling for their own resignation.

Those who began and ended every campaign speech and leaflet with a list of everything that is wrong in Irish society – from homelessness to hospital waiting lists – are now obliged to use any Dáil leverage they have to alleviate those problems.

Surely if Sinn Féin, given the party’s strong numbers, was offered a defined programme to reduce the numbers in emergency accommodation – one of their constant mantras in the election campaign – they would have to give it a try.

Or do they believe that all those in difficulty must wait for a Sinn Féin majority government before anything can be done? This is a challenge that applies to every party and individual TD in the Dáil.

The urban/rural divide in Ireland is now laid bare for all to see and it’s not a pretty sight.

While the Healy-Rae brothers can decry from the beautiful glens of Kerry the ‘smart alecs’ in Dub- lin, the reality is that it is Dubliners who are, by far, worse off in Ireland.

The facts speak for themselves. The lowest number of medical cards in the country are held in the capital – 32%, while counties like Kerry, Donegal and Mayo have managed to secure between 40% and 55% of their population on this vital State benefit.

When it comes to third-level grants, guess which county fares worst? The answer is Dublin.

Which counties fare best? Correct again – Kerry, Mayo and Donegal.

PAYE workers are assessed much more scrupulously than their country cousins when it comes to access to State benefits.

After the success of Michael and Danny Healy-Rae, there was talk of counties life Kerry declaring independent republics. Of course they couldn’t do that because most city dwellers believe it is their hefty income taxes that are bankrolling the rest of the country.

Does anyone really believe that there is significantly less poverty in Dublin than anywhere else in the country?

And don’t forget that 90% of the national income tax take comes from the PAYE sector – with less than 1% coming from the farming community. I know many farm families are living below the poverty line but it is the big cities where poverty is even more prevalent.

This is why parties proposing radical solutions have done so well in urban areas.

The ‘cute hoor’ is alive and well and still being elected in Ireland. However the results of the first general election of 2016 show that the days of this exotic, expensive, uniquely Irish creature may soon be over.

A NEW Normandy-style D-day German bunker has risen on the Dublin skyline in the past eight weeks, destroying a beautiful bay and delivering a shock to a stunned population that had forgotten that a new €600m incinerator is less than a year away from full operation.

This grey, dour carbuncle is unmissable as it now dominates what is one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

This monstrosity that must be fed with 600,000 tonnes of trash a year is located at the most inaccessible part of our city. It’s all a load of rubbish, but it’s not funny anymore.

ALTHOUGH he has one of the most underused voices in Irish radio, Aidan Mathews is turning to his not inconsiderable artistic skills. Aidan, who is one of the most accomplished wordsmiths in Ireland, has a new collection of short stories, Charlie Chaplin’s Wishbone, revolving around the annual visits of the silent movie star to Waterville in Co. Kerry. Charlie Chaplin’s Wishbone And Other Stories is published by Lilliput Press.