Suddenly sorry seems to be the newest word
Rusty Ruairi was at it yesterday, admitting blunders in his plan to cut teachers from disadvantaged schools while putting his ministerial maladroitness down to being “out of practice”.
He certainly is. He’s clearly forgotten that the official procedure when caught out on a bad decision is to first say nothing, then claim your intentions were misunderstood, then blame someone else, then attack your attackers and finally announce a line has been drawn in the sand.
Revenue chairwoman Josephine Feehily cut herself a hefty slice of humble pie after terrifying pensioners with letters telling them the taxman was coming.
“We caused confusion and distress to some people and I’m sincerely sorry for that,” she told the Oireachtas Finance Committee. A momentary silence followed in which it was half-expected she would add, ‘Ha! Only joking’ and announce the next mail shot would feature skulls and crossbones on the envelopes to boost the fear factor. She didn’t.
Of course it was Joan Burton who set the ball rolling on what now seems to be a pact of contrition. After a clumsy policy change that effectively amounted to telling severely disabled young people to get off their wheelchair and find a job, she too felt it necessary to say the S word.
Coming after the teflon taoiseach years and the bombast of Biffo, when the Simpsonesque motto was: “I didn’t do it. No one saw me do it. You can’t prove anything” this is all a bit disconcerting. A cynic might wonder if it isn’t a deliberate ploy to take the steam out of public anger.
Or maybe it really does signal a change of attitude to one where humility and honesty are the best policy.
Sometime soon might we see a banker camp out with the Occupy Dame Street crowd pleading forgiveness? Then we’d be deprived of having anyone to hate. What have you done, Ruairi? Apologise this instant.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
