Age of ‘terminological inexactitudes’

IN the British House of Commons in 1906, during an exchange evocative of the age, Winston Churchill devised the term “terminological inexactitudes” as a means of circumventing the British parliamentary injunction against accusing an MP of lying.

I wonder what Churchill would have made of the rapier-like retort delivered by Paul Gogarty TD when his integrity was brought into question in the Dáil last week.

The events that define an age often come from “left field” – a completely unpredicted form. Paul Gogarty has punctuated the true nature of Irish parliamentary politics in this age. We are represented by a parliament that is reductive, unworthy of the people and undoubtedly four-lettered in nature.

When the bank rescue was being planned all I heard was “fuck you, the foreign bondholders are king”.

When NAMA was being planned, I heard only “fuck you, you don’t matter, but you are going to pay for this”.

When my public sector salary was cut I could only hear “fuck you, you can’t do anything about it”.

I take some comfort in looking forward to the day when I can tell the Government in the ballot box what I think of all their terminological inexactitudes.

Declan Doyle

Lisdowney

Kilkenny