BAD cop, good cop, cop out on Croke Park.

ANY inquiry into RTÉ should inspire confidence in its complete independence, with no links between the parties involved.

NO ONE wants to see the debates on the Presidency descend into a muck-raking contest, but a reasonably unblemished curriculum vitae is surely a must for such an important State job.

GIVEN the penury we must all endure as a result of corruption, bad management and hopeless governance, it is hardly a surprise that left-wing parties are garnering support from all quarters.

NIALL GINTY’S letter on Sinn Féin’s economic policy clearly demonstrates one thing, that he knows nothing about Sinn Féin’s economic policy (7/12/10).

TALL, clean-cut and with boyish enthusiasm, the new TD smiled his way past the flashing cameras outside of Leinster House, looking for all the world like a smart young businessman in hot pursuit of a glittering career in the city.

IN my letter of July 6, I asked if the Reform Movement would add its voice to calls for the British government to comply with a request from the Oireachtas for information believed to be in the possession of the British state which would be of assistance in identifying those responsible for carrying out acts of terrorism in this state by loyalist paramilitaries, some of whom were believed to be in collusion with elements of British security forces.

EXPRESSING a preference for the “forthright integrity of British rule” above Irish self-rule, Niall Ginty (Letters, July 9) claims life in 19th century England and France was far worse for ordinary folk than it ever was for the Irish under British rule, “with the exception of the Great Famine years”.

IN a long and pitiful lament, poorly disguised as tongue-in-cheek humour, Tom Cooper (Letters, June 30) once again rehashes our ghastly history as though the privations of the 19th century were somehow unique to Ireland.

BASED on what I witnessed at the Passport Office in Molesworth Street, Dublin, and elsewhere, I can only conclude that, unknown to me, the unions have snatched the power to govern from Leinster House.

IN response to Michele Savage’s query (Letters, December 16) about the Irish translation for Deputy Paul Fogarty’s Dáil outburst, it’s probably something like “fiucheainn tú”.

WITH less than two weeks to go until budget day, it is disconcerting to see Taoiseach Brian Cowen waver in the face of union opposition to essential wage cuts.

AS we approach the December budget, the cries for “fairness” from the cosseted classes get louder and union bosses gird their loins for the mother of all showdowns with the Government.

MIDDLE Ireland came out of its deep slumber on Lisbon Treaty referendum day and restored our belief that we still live in a healthy democracy.

I MUST confess I was not one of the 0.2% of the population of Dublin that “bothered to celebrate” the 93rd anniversary of the Easter Rising in the capital (Niall Ginty, Letters, April 23).

WHILE Niall Ginty (Letters, April 24) is uncertain about the level of approval for the 1916 Rising in Dublin, he does not hold back when it comes to throwing out erroneous percentages.

WHILE there is, historically, some uncertainty about the level of approval for the 1916 Rising in Dublin, I do know that a paltry 0.2% of the present population of the capital bothered to celebrate that action at the recent Easter Sunday commemorations.

THE letter from Fr Iggy O’ Donovan (January 22) smacks the nail squarely on the head by exposing the blatantly anti-British bias of Tom Cooper’s letter (January 14) opposing Queen Elizabeth’s proposed visit to the South.

NIALL GINTY (Letters, January 23) accuses me of “dressing up” the facts in relation to leaks of confidential information.

ANTHONY LEAVY (Letters, January 18) can dress it up any way he wishes — the leaking of ANY individual’s private and personal correspondence with the Revenue Commissioners is a sacking offence. And rightly so. We are all entitled to the privacy afforded by the State in such matters.

NIALL GINTY’S assertion (Letters, January 9) that it is the duty of our justice minister to root out the “miscreants” who are “freely leaking confidential and personal information” about the Taoiseach to the media raises fundamental questions about what ordinary people have a right to know in relation to those who exercise power on their behalf in a democracy.

GOVERNMENT ministers are standing four square behind the Taoiseach by staying silent on the latest exposé on his tax affairs while a well-placed ‘servant’ within the Revenue Commissioners is freely leaking confidential and personal information to a contact in the media.

LISTENING to the steady flow of depressing statistics from the various think-tanks and from individual economists has convinced me that bad news is both contagious and counter-productive.

IN his letter headlined ‘Protestants whose actions give the lie to sectarian war theory’ (December 3), Dr Brian P Murphy showed very impressive research.

ONCE again Tom Cooper (Letters, November 22) dons his dark green glasses when writing to defend extreme nationalism.

NIALL GINTY (Letters, November 19) and Eoghan Harris (Sunday Independent, November 11) both commented on my letter to you (November 9).

ISN’T IT amazing how apologists for brutality and violence react when their myths are exploded and the contents laid bare for all to see.

NOT for the first time, RTÉ’s flagship programme, the Late Late Show, has been used as a tool to promote a singularly left-wing view of the world and thereby stifle a much-needed debate on issues that affect every man, woman, and child, in the country.

THE ESRI says we are about to experience a major slump in house prices.

SURELY we should learn from the experience of our neighbours in mainland Europe and Britain?

WITH the notable exception of the Irish Examiner and the Irish Times, there is a trend among some journalists to jump on the ‘Bash Harris’ bandwagon.

WHY is it that RTÉ steadfastly refuses to stand up to Sinn Féin?

MANY of the political pundits in the media put the sudden surge in Bertie Ahern’s poll down to his performance in last Thursday’s TV debate with Enda Kenny.