Kafka? Response to garda scandal is Fr Ted-esque

Revelations of a sinister and detestable smear campaign against Sergeant Maurice McCabe and other brave gardaí who exposed corruption and bad practices within our police force have been described as Kafka-esque.

But I wonder if the great Franz Kafka would even have conceived of such a sordid, shameful and mind-boggling labyrinthine episode that dehumanises those involved in addition to causing grievous hurt and suffering to the people targeted.

The breathtaking levels of ineptitude and incompetence displayed by Government ministers in their response to the revelations leaves one wondering how they ever managed to reach the point where they hold the nation’s destiny in their hands.

Their bizarre collective bumbling is more Fr Ted-esque. Real life imitating high farce!

Apart from a tribunal getting to the heart of what happened, we should not be content until we can switch on the news and see those responsible for the most hurtful smear of all being led away in handcuffs by some of those decent and honourable gardaí we trust to keep the peace and protect us from harm. John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co. Kilkenny.

Teachers v nurses

We are facing a spate of strikes: the INMO, the ASTI, the NBRU, and various hospital workers. Most claims are for restoration of pay and working conditions lost during the 10 years of austerity caused by greedy bankers.

However I feel all these are not equally deserving. For example, there is no comparison between teachers and nurses. Teachers work a five day week and finish at four o’clock, or even earlier in primary schools. They have every weekend off and two or three months off in the summer.

They also benefit from two weeks at Chrismas and Easter, plus two mid-term breaks.

In effect, teachers work for only six months of the year. Therefore their salaries should be halved.

Nurses, on the other hand, work long unsocial hours, many night shifts and holidays as hospitals have to be open 24/7. Also those in A&E have to deal with abuse from drunks, addicts and criminals. The HSE admits to a chronic shortage of trained nurses. Well, the solution is simple: pay them a decent salary.

Mike Mahon, Templeogue, Dublin 6W.

I won’t vote for...

With stirrings of a heave against Taoiseach Enda Kenny and rumblings of a general election in the offing, I am running the rule over my local candidates and considering who to cast my vote for.

I have already decided who I will not vote for. Any and every Oireachtas candidate who circumvents the law by erecting self-promoting posters on just about every vantage point available, inviting me to public meetings to discuss problems such as tax, old people, young mothers, childcare, burglaries and the closure of Garda stations, will not be in receipt of my vote.

If we are to change the legacy of political chicanery in our country, our elected representatives must be forced to adhere to principled ethical standards which embody the values of Irish society and do not bring either House into disrepute.

Aspiring politicians who engage in practices bordering on deception should not be rewarded. We have tolerated politics without principles for far too long in this country.

Tom Cooper, Templeogue, Dublin 6W.

EU building a wall

Forget about the Berlin Wall or President Trump’s Mexican wall. They will be nothing compared to the Brexit wall.

Unless, as is unlikely, the British get many concessions that effectively give them EU membership without its obligations, there will be a permanent physical border between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.

The reason is simple: the Republic will not have any option but to implement whatever controls the EU agrees with the UK. It will be an EU border. If we do not police it, the EU can come in and police it.

We, the people of Ireland, have to decide if we want a border that is more solid, more divisive and less amenable to our friends and family north and south. The 1922 border will seem a dream compared to this new one.

Is Brexit breaking the AngloIrish Treaty and the Good Friday Agreement? John Colgan, Fairview, Dublin 3.

Time to prioritise

Acres of print, endless TV and radio discussions about President Trump and his administration – all largely irrelevant to us and to the exclusion of the very real issue and challenge of Brexit.

We must be prepared to make a determined stand and demand from Brussels special concessions and arrangements for us to continue our close relations and vast export trade to the UK.

For our politicians, it’s makeor-break time. William Shortland, Blessington, Co. Wicklow.