Here’s an idea that will not only help to rebuild public trust in RTÉ but is also sure to be both a moneymaker and money-saver.
Ireland’s Next Late Late Show Presenter: A reality TV show.
Without giving too much away (I can’t simply gift this to the national broadcaster) it could be run like the GAA’s All-Ireland championship (do we include the Nordies?). Each county would have a representative.
The contestants would compete with each other by interviewing Late Late Show-type guests; you know, Des Cahill, Kathryn Thomas, Mary Kennedy, Marty Morrissey, whoever’s hanging around the RTÉ canteen. They could also take over other current affairs shows during the contest, reducing the need for overpaid full-time hosts currently milking Montrose.
The viewing masses would then select their favourite. The winner would present the Late Late for a season along with receiving the annual salary for the post. How much is that exactly?
RTÉ, I am available to talk in greater detail about all this, at the right price of course.
Brendan Corrigan
Bogota
Colombia
Taken for mugs
Who among us wouldn’t like a salary of between €250,000 and €340,000 plus expenses, with a cheque marked “consultancy fees”, as an added incentive.
Yet here we are with a public broadcasting service, part funded by licence fee payers, taking clients on junkets, getting the free use of cars, while the rest of the population struggle with cost-of-living crisis, fuel hikes, and looking for the proverbial roof over their heads.
How dare those at the top echelons of society and business treat us with something nothing short of contempt or take us for mugs.
As a protest, no one should be asked or required to pay the licence fee to RTÉ, who we now know squandered and hid money that should have been used to pay ordinary staff pay increases and pay down debt.
One question that no one seems to have asked is who appointed those on the executive and how many others before the present executive did off the book deals to well-heeled presenters or other senior managers?
It’s typically Irish, the wink-wink-nod-nod, with jobs for men and women in the know, helped on by a political elite, moving from one State body to another, bolstering their well-paid pensions or salaries.
Christy Galligan
Letterkenny
Co Donegal
Doctors’ commitment
There has been a lot of focus in the media on the fact that most doctors are choosing not to provide abortions in their clinics. However, as we know there are no shortage of abortions in Ireland. Last year, nearly 9,000 unborn children were aborted under the law.
The fact most doctors do not provide abortion should be commended. Doctors entered the medical profession to save lives, not to end them. However, a recent exchange between Michael McNamara TD and the author of a Government-sponsored report on Ireland’s abortion laws highlighted that future doctors may face discrimination if they are not willing to perform abortions.
When asked at the Oireachtas health committee on May 31 whether her recommended changes to abortion policy would “lessen the chance of somebody with conscientious objection being recruited”, the report’s author replied: “Yes, I would imagine so.” When asked whether she believed this was acceptable, she replied “If you have to meet the needs of the service, yes, it is.” This is an incredible admission. If enacted, it would see the outright discrimination against doctors who value life and do not wish to abort unborn children as part of their career. How can freedom of conscience, which is set down as a doctor’s right in the legislation, then be actively eroded in the hiring process?
The relentless campaign by some to constantly hound doctors exercising their freedom of conscience is unfair and must end. The medical profession is enriched by people with strong convictions and a sincere commitment to save human life, not to destroy it.
Verity Patrick
via email
Battling for tourism
Regarding Anne Lucey’s article ‘No room at the inn: Killarney battles to keep tourism crown’ (July 1): Small businesses will go under and will not be replaced as these are local long-time traditional businesses. It was crazy for this to be allowed to happen, but the damage is done now. Why do they never learn? Can take 10 years-plus for confidence in the tourist industry in any one area to be restored. Bad experiences travel far and wide. It’s a shame as Killarney is the best of the tourist adventure. It offers everything.
J Murphy
Killarney
Co Kerry
Goodbye Killarney
Regarding Anne Lucey’s article: We have 12 to 14 of us that travel to Killarney for three days in June July, and August, all men. It is not happening this year because of prices. We have better-value accommodation elsewhere. Goodbye, Kerry.
Dermot Baldwin
Bracket Court
Cork
Tackling polluters
Is Irish Business Against Litter (Ibal) including their own boxes and wrapping paper discarded around the countryside, when they claim citizens are dumping willy-nilly?
Ibal makes a lot of noise about households dumping on side of roads and the like, yet in all my time alive and travelling about I have encountered little or none of this.
On the upper Togher Road, going towards green spaces, Ibal has quite a number of “Shame on Cork” placards stuck in ditches along the way. I travel on this road quite often, and I have never seen rubbish scattered along the way — not even Cork business stuff. The bullying notices are very noticeable and unsightly, nevertheless.
When we are shocked by the news that there is (and will be) officially sanctioned streaming of raw sewage into our rivers, harbours, and inshore seas, then we have more than valid reasons to hit the roof in protest.
There is nary a mention of this by Ibal and other virtue-signalling “environmentals” because this would be seen as tackling the real polluters — the powers that be — who in such matter are a law unto themselves. Easier to browbeat the householders who put their rubbish in their wheelie bins as a matter of course.
Robert Sullivan
Bantry
Co Cork
Parking an issue
Midleton is a “rare town” where parking is free, but where many drivers allow their cars to overstay the three-hour limit. The town tends to be choc-a-block on weekdays, when there is no dedicated traffic warden to supervise the parking regulations, thus errant “parkers” seem to pay little heed to this time limit rule.
As Midleton is an agri-town, there are many SUVs from the surrounding country area that visit the town quite often.
Recently I went to park in the nearest car park to the main street, where I saw two adjacent spaces were available.
However, two SUVs were parked on either side of those available spaces, which were overlapping the white lines of the parking bays. I selected one of the spaces but had no choice but to park a couple of feet away from one of the SUVs, which meant my car was slightly extending onto the remaining parking space.
As I walked away from my car, another SUV attempted to squeeze into the last remaining bay, but then decided his SUV wouldn’t fit there.
As he drove away, he opened his window to scold me with: “Hey! You should learn to park properly!”
I replied: “If I parked ‘properly’ in those bays I wouldn’t be able to open the door to get out of my small car. Anyway, if all of you SUV drivers bought small cars like mine there might then be ample parking space available for everyone in Midleton.”
Tom Baldwin
Midleton
Co Cork
Airport logistics
Picking up family or friends at JFK Airport New York, you can use one of the free cell phone lot waiting areas, located at each of the primary airport entrances. Both cell phone lots are less than a five-minute drive to all terminals. Drivers wait here until the passengers are ready to be collected. People who stop and wait at the terminal are quickly dealt with.
In Dublin Airport the advice is to use the short-term car park, minimum charge €3 and another €4.50 if you run over the hour. It can take 15 minutes just to find a space so it’s easy to overstay.
If JFK can do it, why not Dublin, with half the passenger numbers?
Ronan Quinlan
Rooskey
Co Roscommon
Perhaps a point missed
Regarding Mick Clifford’s article ‘Can excavation of Tuam babies bring closure?’ (July 1): While it is only his opinion, Mr Clifford has written and seems to try to tiptoe around actually hurting the people who have been destroyed by this issue he still manages to do so. I am assuming that Mr Clifford is not one of the many people impacted upon by having their child, or family member taken away, placed into a institution and through abuse and neglect let die and then to have the last piece of dignity taken from them in death to be thrown into a sewer tank.
While I’m sure the families affected will never ever have complete peace, they will have succeeded in giving their loved one a dignified resting place. They were failed in life and in death by religion, society and the government of the time, the least we can do now is rectify this in our time. Maybe Mr Clifford has missed this point.
Nicola Browne
Athlone,
Co Westmeath
