While Bertie’s jet waits at Shannon, disabled people go nowhere
Given that they're thinking of going upmarket for a new jet - at a cost of 50 million - it's something they might consider. Admittedly, it suffered a slight bit of damage because Mary Kelly, who does a bit of peacekeeping on the side, had an axe to grind.
Having evaded whatever security there is at Shannon airport she struck a few blows for peace - quite a few, actually. Armed with a non-nuclear hatchet, the 50-year-old mother of one inflicted damage to the nose, hydraulic lines and front wheel of the 737 aircraft before she was arrested at the scene.
According to the airport authorities, damage estimated at 500,000 was caused to the American war effort, which seems extraordinarily high for a mere hatchet job.
Instead of being embarrassed by this incident, the Government should consider it an opportunity that dropped out of the sky. They're in the market for a new jet to replace the 12-year-old Gulfstream GIV, which is giving a bit of trouble. They have no problem in lashing out 50 million of taxpayers' money to ensure they get from A to B in the lap of luxury.
Apparently, the preferred choice is a Boeing 737 Business Jet, which would put our revered Taoiseach way up there with the best of the high-fliers. One aviation expert said that British Prime Minister Tony Blair's usual mode of transport, a British Aerospace 146, was "pathetic" by comparison.
However, the US Navy plane has one major advantage: it is a military aircraft and presumably has all the defence facilities which these yokes are supposed to have. If it hasn't, then it was a waste of a perfectly good hatchet.
Assuming it has all the requisite defence and attack mod cons, it could be very handy in the coming months when the skies will become rather fraught with danger because of the contrived war with Iraq.
I'm sure we would all be happier to think that our beloved Taoiseach and his ministers would not be defenceless targets as they meander all over the world on our behalf. So, they might be well-advised to make an offer for the C-40A in Shannon, which also has the advantage that it's in the country and there would be no delay on delivery dates. Insofar as the slight damage is concerned, any good panelbeater should be able to do a good job on it with a bit of filler, and a new front wheel shouldn't prove too expensive.
The only problem is, would you buy a second-hand plane from George Walker Bush?
The jet the Government is looking at has room for a large communications centre which, given the Taoiseach's disdain for communicating with ordinary people, should prove to be a waste of money.
A flippant comment from Bertie Ahern after he launched the European Year of People With Disabilities just about summed up his attitude to some people in this country. Actually, it's an attitude he has to most of the people here.
In this case, though, his dismissive gesture was directed at people who have a lot more to put up with than he ever will. A number of organisations representing people with disabilities had protested outside the Mansion House in Dublin because they believe his Government's record in providing services and treatment is abysmal.
What they want is the restoration of the dignity of those they represent and they let the Taoiseach know it when he emerged from the launch.
On the 6.01 news on RTÉ that evening, when asked to comment on the protest, Mr. Ahern said to the reporter: "I hope you were inside to see the representatives of 500 disability groups. This is a small crowd (the protest) made up of four organisations," dismissing them with a smug grin or maybe a leer.
It was a typical response from a man who is totally out of touch with what is going on around him.
What he saw was a bigger crowd inside the Mansion House, and that appealed to his ego. There were potentially more votes inside - and none outside.
Those who attended seemingly endorsed what he was doing, and gave him a good reception because maybe they think that somewhere in the area of disability the present Government is doing something right.
Maybe it is, but there are other sectors badly neglected and that's what the protesters wanted to highlight.
In the words of Seamus Green of the National Parents and Siblings Alliance, there is, as far as the Government is concerned, an "acceptable level of misery", which is a dire indictment of the current administration.
Obviously, that misery does not apply to the members of the Government who see nothing wrong with forking out 50m of our money for a jet.
In other ways, their priorities are also very questionable. There's a very simple comparison which was put in context by Deirdre Carroll of the National Association of the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland (NAMHI).
"The Government is spending around 50m a month on the Special Savings Incentive Accounts, yet around 20m would provide places for emergency cases which will arise over the year," she said.
The cases usually involve mentally handicapped people who are cared for at home by elderly parents, but end up needing residential care when a family member dies. Because there is a lack of suitable residential places, handicapped people will, instead, be admitted to nursing homes, respite centres or even psychiatric hospitals.
The policy of putting mentally handicapped people into psychiatric institutions was supposed to have ended almost 20 years ago, but obviously it has not.
If this country had any real concern for some of the most vulnerable in our society, the funding would be provided to eliminate some, if not all, of the unacceptable conditions that too many of our people must endure.
Disability groups say that an extra 20m should be provided in emergency funding to tackle the growing crisis in services for the mentally handicapped.
It is not an extraordinary amount of money, but it would prevent an extraordinary amount of anguish and help to restore their dignity.
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