Letter to the Editor: A little planning saves in the long run

It was interesting and appropriate to hear last Friday that the FAI are going to slim down their travelling parties for away matches. We have heard in the past that the “suits” travelled at the front of the plane with the team left in the back. Less non-essential personnel can only make sense and let’s hope that this (small) first step is indicative of a new approach.

It would be great if this approach could be looked at by other organisations with known financial issues. When their 2020 results are announced next year, expect RTÉ to trot out the familiar line about the cost of covering the Summer Olympics, the European Championships, and of course the general election coverage. Maybe consideration should be given to a more modest approach — it seemed as if half the RTÉ sports department were in Russia for the World Cup two years ago, and we hadn’t even qualified. They might also bear in mind that there are no unexpected events. World Cups and Olympic Games run on conveniently predictable four-year cycles. General elections in this country have, over the last 30 years, tended to be every 4/5 years — a little planning maybe.