Dear Sir... Readers' Views (1/11/16)
Lack of judicial oversight is unjust
The lack of an independent procedure for allegations of judicial abuse of power has been attested to many times, including by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Susan Denham.
The claim that citizens can appeal to a higher or different court, or seek judicial review, is academic, because most people do not have the financial resources to undertake such action.
Deputy Clare Daly’s claims, in Dáil Eireann, of inconsistent recourse by a judge who ordered a bench warrant for her arrest, illuminate this issue.
Deputy Daly made other valid points on the matter and in her support for a bill to introduce the long-awaited (20 years) Judicial Council.
Those entrusted with extensive judicial powers should be subject, like other citizens, to independent and effective oversight.
Judging the judges
Given Dalygate, who judges the judges?
Video proves hare coursing is cruel
Damning new video footage proves that hare-coursing continues to be a despicably cruel practice, despite assurances from Heritage Minister, Heather Humphries, that the “sport” is well-regulated and that hares come to no harm, due to muzzling of greyhounds and stringent monitoring of fixtures.
An animal welfare person bravely defied the strict ban on “unauthorised photography” which coursing clubs impose, by using a camera phone to film the moment a hare was caught by greyhounds and severely mauled.
It happened at this month’s Loughrea coursing meeting in County Galway. The trapped hare was pushed and pinned to the ground by the dogs, before a club official ran in to pull away the animal’s battered body.
The hare is likely to have suffered serious internal injuries (such as irremediable bone breakages).
After snatching the hare away from the greyhounds, the courser grabs the animal by the ears and slowly carries him off the field.
In rejecting Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill to abolish hare coursing, in June, Minister Humphries pleaded that there was no need for a ban, because coursing hares were well-treated by their captors. This footage tells a different story.
We appeal to all TDs who withheld their support from the proposed ban to rethink it. It is important that the public and politicians are shown what happens at these cruel events, especially given that many other jurisdictions have outlawed hare-coursing on animal welfare grounds.
It is a scandal that this activity continues thanks to a combination of censorship, cover-up, and political cowardice.
TDs might also reflect on the negative impact this State-approved animal cruelty is having on Ireland’s reputation abroad.
Autumn daze
Isn’t autumn so charming? Tree leaves bedecked in a glorious, golden hue. Air crisp and fresh. A walking wonderland of enchantment. The wood so quiet, as she prepares for her long, winter sojourn. Squirrels busily stashing away nuts for retrieval. Some of our little friends already hibernating, in anticipation of spring. Autumn is a second spring, and every leaf is a flower. When the first frost arrives, the wood will be covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon. Crunchy leaves underfoot. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like they’re falling in love with the ground. Autumn you are so beautiful.
Ó Ríordáin centenary
I am part of a group, Gaelgeoirí Cois Laoi, that organises a regular, voluntary Gaeilgeoirí get-together in Cork City, courtesy of Clarion Hotel. Our periodic Gaelic events are supported by Cork City Council; we deeply appreciate the help to enable us to keep the spoken ‘Cúpla focal’ afloat.
We often choose renowned poet, Seán Ó Ríordáin (1916-1977), as subject for our seisiúin and as the centenary of his birth date is this December, we hope to add to the commemoration ceremonies in his native Ballyvourney.
Seán Ó Riordáin and family moved to Inniscarra in his early years and it was there, in his cosy new home, that he flourished as a writer.
I visited the house recently and I came away rather sad, reminiscing about the great literary works that were contemplated and completed here, whose four walls are a shrine of memories flowing from the creative pen of this great composer. I bemoan the sight of this tidy dwelling falling into ruin and I live in hope that Department of Arts, Heritage, and Gaeltacht will hear my plea to consider a project of restoration, in the form of a museum to mark Ó Ríordáin’s centenary. After all, it is a tiny request, in comparison to the proposed €8.5m project to house Mary Robinson’s presidential papers, to which the Department is contributing €2m and Mayo Co Council a further €1.5m. I now retreat into those simple, but meaningful, ponderings entwined in my favourite poem from the Ó Ríordáin archives...
Tá Tír na nÓg ar chul an tí
Tir álainn trína chéile
Lucht ceithre chos ag siúl na slí
Gan bróga ortha ná léine ...
Both sides of Israel and Palestine story
In this era of media polemicals, it is encouraging to see objective analysis that incorporates both sides of a debate, especially when the issue is so contentious that there is no neutral platform.
I would like to congratulate the Irish Examiner and its political correspondent, Juno McEnroe, for even-handedly disseminating the Israeli and Palestinian worldviews. This approach is in contrast to the editorial position of both the Irish Independent and the Irish Times, which slant their reporting in favour of the Palestinians.
McEnroe’s interview with Ze’ev Boker, the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, ‘Israel can learn from the Irish peace process’ (Irish Examiner, October 10), imparted the Jewish state’s perspective on potential future contacts with Hamas (albeit tentatively), whilst his report ‘Two-state solution is not dead, but it is on life support’ (Irish Examiner, October 27), highlighted the dreadful conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.
Both accounts can be strongly supported, or disputed. However, if there is ever going to be a chance of resurrecting the two-state solution and of granting parity of esteem to Israelis and Palestinians, then a balanced global media debate is essential. Congratulations to the Irish Examiner for taking the lead on this issue.
Dr
Kenny has had no political impact
Good, bad, or indifferent, Enda Kenny has done nothing in his 40-plus year political career that wouldn’t have happened anyway, if he’d never been gifted a Dáil seat by Mayo voters doing what they were told.
He has never led on a single issue. There is nothing of substance to him at all, nothing to agree or disagree with, and nothing to debate, because he doesn’t debate.
He wants to get credit for ‘saving’ Ireland, but he hasn’t saved it, and if his party had been in government during the Celtic Tiger years, we would still have gone bust. Ireland was saved by the sacrifices made by normal Irish people. Mr Kenny was untouched by the recession.
His salary is double now what it was in 2011, since he took office, and he still claims expenses that are not verified or audited. His party refuses to explain how it is funded or why it always, always, defers to policies that seem written by corporate vested interests, which are then handed to Kenny to read out.
Whenever he retires, he will take with him a teacher’s, TD’s, councillor’s, minister’s, and taoiseach’s pension, while putting the boot into young teachers and gardaí. He will also have a Dublin house and local office in his name, which the taxpayer paid for, not to mention the extra €50,000 tax-free top-up he’s been paid by Fine Gael each year from the taxpayer-funded party leaders’ allowance.
These are just a few of the reasons so many people hold him in contempt. The public know that Kenny would have led us to 2011 in the same way Fianna Fáil’s Brian Cowen did (they are both cut from the same cloth). We also know we were so low then there was no option but to improve, no matter who took over in 2011. The fact that it was Kenny is a side note.
Death of education in County Mayo
It says something about the state of affairs in rural Mayo that there are more graveyards than there are national schools.
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