Incompetence epitomised

If Percy French, that wonderfully sharp social commentator disguised as a writer of mock-dramatic, tom-foolery songs was alive, we might never have heard of the West Clare Railway, that wonderful institution with a Zen-like relationship with time; a ‘shure-what’s-the-hurry’ jollity that never gave into the fashion for punctuality or urgency.

Instead, French would surely have written about the national children’s hospital — if we had one. There can hardly be a project in the western world that better illustrates incompetence, indecision, political strokes, protectionism, and, ultimately, an indifference to the urgent needs of generation after generation of children who might depend on its services. The latest delay, if that’s not too polite a word, means that a planning application will not be made this year, as had been expected. The submission date has been pushed out to February 2015. If you want to know when the hospital might actually open, reading your breakfast tea leaves might be as good a way as any of finding out.