Irish Examiner view: Assaults and threats are evidence of Ireland's fraying social contract

Several parties have advised their candidates on their personal security and safety as they campaign

Solidarity-People Before Profit election candidate Ruth Coppinger had a swastika cut into an image of her face on a poster.

With the local and European elections approaching rapidly, canvassers are pounding the streets and knocking on doors, putting in the hard work to try to get their candidates elected.

What is unusual about this campaign is the acknowledged threat to those candidates’ safety. The Green Party, Fianna Fáil, and Fine Gael have all confirmed that they have advised their candidates on their personal security and safety as they campaign.

That is not an overreaction to the occasional uncomfortable encounter with an irate voter. Independent councillor Tania Doyle said she feared for her life after she and her husband were violently attacked in west Dublin, Louth Labour councillor Pio Smith had a knife pulled on him by a young man in Drogheda, and Solidarity-People Before Profit election candidate Ruth Coppinger had a swastika cut into an image of her face on a poster.

Describing these and similar incidents as an assault on democracy is not hyperbole.

If people cannot canvass for votes without being assaulted or threatened with assault then we do not have a democracy, pure and simple.

Moreover, if anyone thinks such intimidation and thuggery will magically vanish on polling day itself, then they are sadly mistaken. We have moved from a situation of simmering tension to trying to counteract violence when people are exercising their democratic rights.

This story emerged hot on the heels of another dispiriting marker of rising violence in Irish society.

Earlier this week, this newspaper reported that verbal and physical abuse of nurses by patients at Mercy University Hospital Cork had reached such a level that staff are now carrying alarms which can send their precise locations to security guards.

The fact that people who are, by definition, trying to help others must go to such lengths for personal protection is a terrible indictment of our society.

Even the recent closure of the portal linking Dublin with New York because of inappropriate behaviour can be seen as more evidence of a fraying social contract.

This creeping lawlessness is bad enough, but where is it leading us? The authorities must respond to ensure the safety of all, but those authorities must have the support of all in order to do so before this lawlessness tips into a truly serious incident.

Train bike ban is a backward step

No reader can seriously say they are unaware of the growing need for greener travel.

All of us are cognisant of the general environmental damage done by cars, not to mention the impact of heavy traffic on worker productivity, on drivers’ mental health, and on our infrastructure. Little wonder we are encouraged to use alternative modes of transport whenever we can.

This is what makes the news from the Cork commuter train system so baffling. Passengers on the Cobh to Midleton rail service have raised concerns about posters in carriages advising rail users that bikes are not permitted on board during key commuting hours.

The signs rule out bike use before 10am and between 4pm and 7pm, Monday to Friday.

In itself this is completely counter-productive — those are precisely the times when those who wish to cycle to and from work would be using the train.

What adds to the sense of surprise is that we are in the middle of Bike Week, when hundreds of events are planned to promote cycling as a commuter option. There are over three hundred events planned for Cork alone.

Irish Rail has pointed out that its Cork commuter services are at full capacity and standing room is needed: Bicycles obviously take up room that people need at peak times. Increasing capacity is an obvious remedy, and while doing so is not a straightforward matter, banning bicycles from peak commuting times is a seriously retrograde step.

If Cork, or any other urban area in Ireland, is to be a modern city, then such mixed-mode commuting is a must.

If the aim is to reduce traffic in our cities, there are many obvious benefits. Doing so would lower emissions, eradicate noise pollution, cut stress, create streets for people, increase physical activity, beautify the city — the list goes on and on.

By banning bikes, Irish Rail runs the risk of achieving the exact opposite effect and putting more cars on the road. This is an easy fix if the will is there to achieve it — and to remove those signs.

Orca attack is a real-life horror

A news report this week from the Mediterranean may be resonating with horror movie aficionados. 

Many outlets have reported a sailing yacht sank in the Straits of Gibraltar after being rammed by an unknown number of orcas, with Spain’s maritime rescue services confirming that two people on board were rescued. This is not the first attack of its kind in the area.

Those with long memories may be reminded of Orca, a terrible 1970s film in which an orca seeks revenge when its mate is killed by fishermen, out-acting some of the human cast members in the process.

One theory circling about these real-life attacks is that they are also motivated by revenge after an orca in the area was struck by a boat. Scientists have expressed scepticism about this theory, but have confirmed that they believe orcas off the Spanish coast are learning from other orcas in the area how to attack boats.

Something to remember when making your holiday plans.