Garage calendar farce - HSA need to grow up and apologise

ONE of the prices we all pay for being mortal – most of us anyway – is that we occasionally make terrible eejits of ourselves. One of the consolations is that we sometimes get a chance to redeem ourselves.

Yesterday the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) got their chance at redemption and, thankfully, took it. But before we settle back in an all’s-well-that-ends-well mode a few questions must be answered by the HSA.

They were in the firing line because they had written to garage owner Mike Daly ordering him to remove calendars featuring topless women from his garage “immediately”. They claimed the motor-industry standards were “pornographic”.

What sheltered lives those inspectors must lead.

Mr Daly complied fearing for his business but yesterday, after this idiocy was highlighted by the Irish Examiner and pursued RTÉ’s Gerry Ryan, the HSA retracted its extraordinary, bullying diktat.

As he re-hung his calendars, alongside a picture of the Blessed Virgin, Mr Daly said: “I don’t know what’s gone wrong at all.” Neither do we.

Some years ago, when the construction sector was in full flight, additional HSA inspectors were employed and now, when a busy building site is a rarity, they might not be as busy as they once were. Maybe this is the truth at the root of this farce – they have nothing better to do than scratch around the back streets of our cities being offended by the everyday. If that is the case then they should be transferred to one of the many sectors in the public service so badly in need of extra staff.

We must wonder too how many other people are in the position Mike Daly was before he was brave enough to seek the protection of publicity? How many others have been bullied into observing an absurd regime of political correctness and puritanical cant? Hopefully Mr Daly’s victory will encourage them to come forward. We might ask too where the public apology Mr Daly deserves is but we all know the answer to that.