A VERY astute acquaintance responded to the “Noonan scare tactic” assertion regarding a referendum vote being a vote to stay in the EU, or not, as follows: “I think he is firing across the bow of the EU powers.”

TO those TDs who publicly have stated they will not pay the €100 household charge and are calling on other citizens to do likewise, I say they are a disgrace to our democratic process and to their own constituents.

Referring to the article on the household charge I agree with Mr Higgins, TD, and also with Mr Hogan, Minister and TD, that it is an unfair charge.

TAOISEACH Kenny says the new household charge is only €2 a week.

ON YOUR Business page of December 14, Joe Gill referred quite disparagingly to “number cruncher geeks” as “number jockeys”.

THE holiday season should be completely done away with because too many people are full of misery and depression.

AS Phil Hogan spelled out the details of his household charge in the Dáil, with the stress and emphasis on fines and punishment for non-pay, it became worrying that the failure to relate liability for the new tax to “ability to pay” will expose many to the rigours of those same draconian enforcement plans.

IN relation to Colette Browne’s article on abortion (Opinion, Dec 14), I would like to point out that at no point does she even mention the rights of the child that are stipulated in our constitution.

IT IS a week before Christmas and Mr Hogan is issuing warnings about paying the €100 household charge before the end of March next year.

MINISTER Ruairí Quinn announced on December 5 that “a key priority is to target available funding at schools with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage”.