Dear Sir... Readers' Views (03/10/16)
Garda strike the ultimate betrayal of public trust
Public trust towards, and the custom of public co-operation with, An Garda Síochána is derived from the solemn declaration that each of them make on appointment to uphold the constitution and the law. Strict observance of this oath is a fundamental social contract. It is non-negotiable. Any threat to it will not yield one whit of public support.
The complete withdrawal of policing service has been rare throughout the civilised world in the past century. It has never occurred without serious and enduring adverse consequences for the instigators.
According to the general secretary of the Garda Representative Association, those on whose behalf he speaks “felt we had no option” but to neutralise the entire policing service of the country on four Fridays in November because certain individuals are “frustrated”; “morale is low” and that a unilateral withdrawal of services “is justified” — and because they are not getting their own way.
If their proposed undisciplined renegade action exposes Irish society to the risk of elevated hooliganism, and worse, they are no different in temperament and morality than the creators of such mayhem, devastation and havoc and they are quite unworthy of public support.
Those advocating this disruption do not have to look far to learn the inalienable consequences when a once blue-chip institution, or a once noble individual, betrays public trust.
The mere threat of disruption to normal standards of policing will so radically alter public attitude towards the force and erode respect, that the advocates of industrial relations mayhem might reconsider the probable consequences for themselves directly if the ineluctable price they will inevitably pay, really does make consideration of this illegal and flamboyant stunt tenable.
Anti-choicers need to face reality not deface property
The anti-choice vandalism of my office is a mark of desperation and cowardice. Momentum is with those in favour of repeal and the anti choicers will have to deal with it without recourse to this. Whoever sprayed the graffitti on to my constituency office last Wednesday night, September 28, in Cork is somebody who obviously objects to my pro choice stance on the question of abortion rights.
I deplore this act of vandalism on an office that we rent in Blackpool, Cork. It’s clearly intended to intimidate me and my party colleagues. The matter has been reported to the gardaí.
This is a mark of desperation on the anti choice side. They must be flummoxed by the ground swell in Irish society for repeal of the Eighth Amendment thirty three years after they had it inserted into the constitution. Unable to deal with the tide of history turning against them they are reduced to this type of thing. We are undeterred by this juvenile act and have no problem discussing and debating our position rationally with those who do not share our perspective on this matter.
Quick victory for Assad best option
Adrian Hamilton, former foreign editor of the Observer, bravely suggests that the best way to end the suffering of the people of Aleppo now would be a quick victory for Bashar al Assad. He is right, and the best thing the US and UK can do is co-operate with Assad and Putin in bringing that about.
If America says the rebels have to surrender control of eastern Aleppo, the battle can come to a quick end with the minimum of fighting. Assad would certainly accept massive aid going to all parts of the city in those circumstances and there would be a clear way forward for peace in the country as a whole.
Tragically, talk coming out of America is about beefing up arms supplies to rebels. This would mean ongoing war. We have been going along with US foreign policy in Syria since the war started. It is high time for a radical rethink from Theresa May and the UK government.
Nowhere near parity of pay for teachers
In your editorial comment (September 17) you state “the decision to end pay inequity among teachers is to be welcomed”.
This gives the impression that the three-tier pay scale which discriminates against younger teachers and the more recent entrants to the profession has ended. Nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true that a recent agreement between some teacher organisations and the DES [department] will result in a partial restoration, this deal still retains a multi-tier pay structure within teaching and does not restore the common basic scale. In other words, there still won’t be equal pay for equal work.
Two teachers working side by side, doing exactly the same job with exactly the same duties and responsibilities could be on two totally different pay scales. Some teachers stand to lose many tens of thousands of euro in career earnings. Also any measure of pay restoration will also have to be contingent on the delivery of increased productivity, which begs the question, why should pay equality be contingent on anything?
Those teaching unions that have signed up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement will have to accept this state of affairs, at least for three years, as this deal prohibits any cost-increasing claims for its duration.
Bring in living wage not tax on pittance
It is getting tiresome reading the musings of Gerald Howlin up to his usual lobbying on behalf of high earners. (Squeezed middle are burdened by non tax-paying lower earners, 28/9) It is shameful that anyone would so enthusiastically push for changes to the tax code that would see those already living on the verge of poverty forced to pay more tax so that those with more than enough can be further enriched. The dishonesty of wrapping this recipe for further social friction, disaffection and suffering in a made-up phony “principle” (that everyone should pay something) leaves many exasperated. A feeling of almost despair rises as powerful forces push for even greater inequity.
Is there no hope at all that we as a nation are going to have an honest discussion on the core issue — distributive justice? Is the suffering of the many that we are witnessing to be accepted as the norm?
It is simply not believable that Mr Howlin does not understand that if the actions he advises were to happen the result would be even greater suffering and inequity in our society.
Perhaps to broaden Mr Howlin’s focus we should respond to the question he left us with, is it “OK for about a third of the population to make no direct contribution to the State”? Rather than reduce the income of those living on a pittance, maybe we should consider introducing a living wage as a means of bringing more into the income tax net. This would more humanely satisfy his simplistic “principle” regarding “everyone paying something”, while leaving those rooted to the bottom rung of the socio-economic ladder with some chance of living with a modicum of dignity.
Tributes to Peres mask the reality
President Michael D Higgins, Enda Kenny TD and Charles Flanagan TD have responded to the death of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres with glowing tributes about an ‘elder statesman’ with a ‘remarkable ..political career’.
A missing voice is that of Palestinians who bore the brunt of his actions. If we heard those voices, perhaps they would tell our politicians how Peres championed illegal settlements and Palestinians lost their lands and livelihoods so Israeli zionists could achieve their dream of a Jewish state.
They would probably call it white settler colonialism. Perhaps they would tell our politicians how Peres described the 2009 slaughter of Palestinians in Operation Cast Lead. He referred to the “national solidarity behind the military operation to be Israel’s finest hour”.
They would certainly talk about the 1996 massacre of 106 Lebanese civilians, half of whom were children, under Peres’ watch. It is unlikely they would describe Shimon Peres as an elder statesman with a remarkable political career.
Repeal march was really sad to see
It was so sad to see a march in our capital city on Saturday last, seeking to end the lives of unborn babies. We have a Minister for Disability Issues, a Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and a Minister for Health, all who want to see unborn babies with disabilities wiped out of our society. They want inclusion and equality for some but not for others. Repealing the Eighth Amendment, only takes away rights. Surely we should strive to end discrimination towards everyone, born and unborn.
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