Over the last few years it has become increasingly clear why our hospitals are overflowing — government negligence.

Having listened to the recent revelations in and around the BBC on the Jimmy Savile enquiry, one thing stood out that explains the slow collapse of our country. 

What I have noticed over the last few years is that decent taxpayers are always held individually responsible for their actions by the law. 

Civilisation will finally reach Ireland only when our politicians become as afraid of upsetting decent taxpayers and voters as they clearly are of upsetting banks and large corporations.

On behalf of humans everywhere, thank you for printing a letter on Wednesday about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

One of the measures of how worthless our FF/FG governmental system has become is the ever-increasing number of charity requests, especially at this time of the year.

As a senior reporter in Brussels told me recently, this ‘refugee crisis’ is carefully organised.

Just when I was thinking that this FF/FG governmental system could sink no further into the gutter, it comes up with a plan to make more money by decreasing the chances of anybody winning the Lotto.

I hear rumours that the lotto company is planning to increase the numbers “to make the game more exciting”. To make the game more exciting, it would be great to have a better chance of winning something, not a much smaller chance.

Our country is going down the drain as our glorious leaders are not subject to a driving test. 

To borrow a turn of phrase from Enda Kenny on an  RTE’s Six One news bulletin recently: ’we will not tolerate law abiding citizens being prevented from going about their lives’ because of the extortion of money from people already impovershed  by taxes that are  wasted in an unfathomable bureaucracy. 

It is beginning to seem obvious that a major war is just round the corner.

Last weekend, I reviewed every letter-to-the-paper that I had sent over the last 23 years.

As the negligence, incompetence and general uselessness of our very expensive governmental system becomes more exposed by the day, one fact emerges continually — none of them will ever be held responsible for anything.

This latest nonsense about stopping alcohol sponsorship of sport is yet another sad attempt by useless bureaucrats to justify their salary.

Many of the greatest spongers in the world (politicians) are now trumpeting “the good of the State” as their reason for clamping down on tax-avoidance.

I heard some of the teachers protesting against all sorts of things at the various congresses.

My daughter has just informed me that if she has to repeat the final year of her Electronic Engineering degree, her eventual degree will be downgraded, no matter how brilliantly she passes.

The problem with negotiating with the leaders of the thousands of workers who hold superfluous bureaucratic ‘jobs’ is that many people are starting to feel sorry for these public servants.

If we are going to let Monsanto and others in to ruin all the natural food we have (that EU customers are crying out for), could we at least get them to do something useful to make up for it?

TARA SINCLAIR is a professor of economics and international affairs at George Washington University.

I CAN’T imagine why anybody is surprised that another company is leaving Ireland.

AN economics professor at UCD was reported recently as recommending a mortgage forgiveness scheme that would only cost us €5 billion or €6 billion.

WHY all the huge security effort costing many millions that we don’t have? Admittedly, Good Queen Bess II comes with a lot of historical baggage and Barack Obama comes as the most warmongering ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize but I really don’t think much security will be necessary for either of them.

ACCORDING to an article that I just read, British banks almost immediately started speculating with the money of the taxpayers who bailed them out by betting against the bonds of the government that had just stolen the bailout money from the taxpayers.

ONE of the senior bond holders on Ireland’s debt is the huge US financial company Goldman Sachs.

LATELY I heard on the news that suicides could be reduced if support services were centralised.

TWO comments on the Government’s latest fiasco. Firstly, there are dozens of products widely available that are known to cause illness and death, for instance alcohol and tobacco.

OWNER Desmond Gibson from Co Down and breeder Thomas Power from Dungarvan, Co Waterford, produced Tinahely Show’s 2006 Red Mills Non-thoroughbred Two-year-old All Ireland colts/gelding champion, by Puissance out of Artic Gem (by Artic View).