Welcome to rip-off Ireland

AS shadow minister for arts, tourism and non-sequiturs, Jimmy Deenihan is labouring under an misapprehension if he thinks that non-nationals are too prominent in our hospitality sector.

Or that tourists come here primarily “To speak to Irish people”.

In fact, they come for the weather, the rip-off prices, the stale limp food, short measures, drink, car insurance, bullet trains, snide comments and to sample the cosmopolitan atmosphere (acquired by doing two laps of the Ring Of Kerry) - services the likes of which simply can’t be found for love or money in their own native homes.

If only we could get more Fine Gael TDs to deputise as beasts of burden pulling the carts up to Moll’s Gap, or to sweep the streets after the carousers have gone home, then we wouldn’t need Johnny Foreigner to do our dirty work for us. Though, of course, we would still need his sterling, euros or mega-bucks to keep our ailing tourism sector afloat. Or they could just mail in the money and save themselves the bother of a wasted holiday adventure.

Risteard Ó Dublainn,

Sraid Coote

Maighean Ratha

Co Laoighis