What extraordinary arrogance Jeremy Corbyn has in his resolute determination to exit the European Union while waving a red flag and denying the people of the UK a meaningful vote in a second referendum.
He must have been surprised by his sudden elevation to power within the Labour Party, so he should not be surprised when he is divested of that power in the coming months.
Yes, the EU did move to the right, just as the rest of the world moved right with declining corporation tax, light-touch regulation of the financial services industry, shareholders driving and controlling the political agenda to protect their interests, business failures bailed out by taxpayers, etc.
Notwithstanding these problems, surely any sane politician can understand the problem of the UK leaving, with antagonism, the largest trading block in the world and, arguably, the greatest democratic political union in the world?
This fear and loathing from the country that founded the East India Company over 400 years ago; this from the country, most of which was once a Roman province; this from the country that gave birth to the ‘People’s Charter’ in 1842, a group demanding universal suffrage for men, the secret ballot, removal of property qualifications for members of parliament, salaries for members of parliament, and electoral districts representing equal numbers of people.
As Cicero said: “Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.”
Alison Hackett
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin
Free non-alcoholic beer can solve many problems
I bought alcohol-free drinks for Christmas at home to set the bar (excuse the pun) for my three children aged 23, 22 and 16. Coca Cola and 7-Up just don’t cut the mustard for them any more.
Instead Heineken 00 and Schloer went down really well and they (and I) didn’t feel we were missing out when others were drinking wine or regular beer.
What was frustrating was going out to dinner as a family and paying top euro for the drinks for the designated driver (me). It’s even more annoying when I remember the UK scheme where a designated driver handed over their car keys to the bar staff and drank non-alcoholic drinks for free, all night! Their keys were returned when they left the premises sober. I think the fine print involved having at least two alcohol-drinking members of the group.
So why not negotiate with drinks suppliers/manufacturers on the costs of introducing such a scheme in Ireland?
I bet it would save the Garda, emergency services, health boards and disability payments for those injured in road accidents and deaths as a result of the consumption of alcohol. Rural pubs (and by extension drinks manufacturers and suppliers) would definitely appreciate the rise in income a scheme like this could generate – not to mention swelling Ireland’s tax coffers.
After all, you don’t want to kill the Golden Guinness Goose that attracts so many visitors to Ireland.
Laura Burke
Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare
Breheny is wide of posts with football rankings
I am a devout Mayo man, now living in Laytown, Co Meath.
I refer to Martin Breheny’s recent ratings of GAA football teams for 2018.
I must compliment him on getting the number one team, Dublin, correct, I knew that one myself and so did my granddaughter (3).
But we had a good laugh when we came to his number two – Galway – and all my grandkids are still laughing.
Now let me get serious. We always admired Galway footballers, renowned as a good, fair, sporting team down the years. At the moment, they are a fairly good team and with youth in their side they can become a very good team.
But, right now, they are definitely not number two, nor near it! Placing them number two for this year is an insult to supporters, players and management. Place them somewhere in the top 10, but please not before Monaghan, Tyrone and Donegal, and a few more that could be debated about.
Incidentally, Martin ranked Kerry second to Dublin two years ago. That was the year, in fact one of the years, in which Mayo drew with Dublin and were beaten by a point in the replay. Lo and behold, where were they placed? You guessed it right, they came in third.
Now, having got that off my chest let me wish Martin and the Galway team a happy new year, and while I am at it let me wish the Mayo team and all our long-suffering supporters an even happier new year.
Dr Frank Davey
Address with editor
Majority of electorate didn’t vote for abortion
As we enter 2019, we also bring in an era when in effect the most basic human right will be denied in law to the most vulnerable human being in our community – the child in the womb.
The ‘landslide mandate’ for this was really a 44pc vote, that is, 66pc of the 64pc of the electorate who actually voted. This reveals the chasm of democratic deficit at the heart of our legal system.
All we can hope for is a rethink and change of heart that will lead to a retreat from the abyss of destruction of human life that awaits our country.
Alex Reid
Rossylongan, Donegal Town
Time for a new pro-life political movement here
Fianna Fáil TD Michael McGrath expressed his dismay over the actions of 31 of his party’s TDs in asking for amendments to, or opposing, abortion legislation while it was being debated in the Dáil.
While 31 Fianna Fil TDs out of a total of the 44 currently in parliament may be a majority of that party, it does not mean these TDs are “opposed to the will of the people” or “out of step with the public”, as Michael McGrath puts it.
More than 700,000 people opposed repeal of the Eighth last May, roughly a third of the electorate that went to the polls. Those 700,000 people will be looking for ongoing political representation, and pro-life issues are a determining factor for many of them.
Perhaps those who supported repeal think 700,000 people and their families are simply going to disappear from the political landscape, pack their bags like the wild geese and leave these shores.
The road to repeal the 36th Amendment has just started, even if it is for the long haul. Any politician with real pro-life credentials – and not just claiming so in order to get elected last time round – should consider linking up with like-minded people for a whole new venture in Irish politics.
Such a party would represent the only really meaningful opposition across a range of issues in the current political climate. There are “seacht gcéad míle fáilte romhat” waiting for you.
Nick Folley
Carrigaline, Co Cork
No one on this island will be better off after Brexit
During 2018, I spent enough time wading through letters, articles, political speeches etc on the subject of Brexit to last me a lifetime. More fool I.
So for 2019, my motto is ‘Be reasonable, keep it short and simple’.
In that vein, let me say this. Apart from smugglers and associated groups and organisations, I cannot think of a single person on this island, North or South, who will be better off after Brexit than they are right now.
Should anyone, including members of the DUP, choose to disagree with me, let them keep it short and simple by stating clearly who, exactly, will be better off and why!
Brendan Casserly
Bishopstown, Co Cork
Thanks to all who helped my son when he fainted
An unexpected visit to A&E on Christmas Day was not the dire experience often presented.
After fainting at Mass, my 14-year-old son was assisted by at least 10 medical professionals; the nurses and doctors in the congregation, the rapid-response paramedic, the ambulance crew and the staff in Sligo accident and emergency.
It brought meaning to the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.
Thank you, Sligo.
Emma Purcell
Strandhill Road, Co Sligo
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Letters to the Editor: 'Corbyn’s enduring failure on Brexit will see him divested of his leadership as abruptly as he got it'
Letters to the Editor: 'Corbyn’s enduring failure on Brexit will see him divested of his leadership as abruptly as he got it'
What extraordinary arrogance Jeremy Corbyn has in his resolute determination to exit the European Union while waving a red flag and denying the people of the UK a meaningful vote in a second referendum.
He must have been surprised by his sudden elevation to power within the Labour Party, so he should not be surprised when he is divested of that power in the coming months.
Yes, the EU did move to the right, just as the rest of the world moved right with declining corporation tax, light-touch regulation of the financial services industry, shareholders driving and controlling the political agenda to protect their interests, business failures bailed out by taxpayers, etc.
Notwithstanding these problems, surely any sane politician can understand the problem of the UK leaving, with antagonism, the largest trading block in the world and, arguably, the greatest democratic political union in the world?
This fear and loathing from the country that founded the East India Company over 400 years ago; this from the country, most of which was once a Roman province; this from the country that gave birth to the ‘People’s Charter’ in 1842, a group demanding universal suffrage for men, the secret ballot, removal of property qualifications for members of parliament, salaries for members of parliament, and electoral districts representing equal numbers of people.
As Cicero said: “Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.”
Alison Hackett
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin
Free non-alcoholic beer can solve many problems
I bought alcohol-free drinks for Christmas at home to set the bar (excuse the pun) for my three children aged 23, 22 and 16. Coca Cola and 7-Up just don’t cut the mustard for them any more.
Instead Heineken 00 and Schloer went down really well and they (and I) didn’t feel we were missing out when others were drinking wine or regular beer.
What was frustrating was going out to dinner as a family and paying top euro for the drinks for the designated driver (me). It’s even more annoying when I remember the UK scheme where a designated driver handed over their car keys to the bar staff and drank non-alcoholic drinks for free, all night! Their keys were returned when they left the premises sober. I think the fine print involved having at least two alcohol-drinking members of the group.
So why not negotiate with drinks suppliers/manufacturers on the costs of introducing such a scheme in Ireland?
I bet it would save the Garda, emergency services, health boards and disability payments for those injured in road accidents and deaths as a result of the consumption of alcohol. Rural pubs (and by extension drinks manufacturers and suppliers) would definitely appreciate the rise in income a scheme like this could generate – not to mention swelling Ireland’s tax coffers.
After all, you don’t want to kill the Golden Guinness Goose that attracts so many visitors to Ireland.
Laura Burke
Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare
Breheny is wide of posts with football rankings
I am a devout Mayo man, now living in Laytown, Co Meath.
I refer to Martin Breheny’s recent ratings of GAA football teams for 2018.
I must compliment him on getting the number one team, Dublin, correct, I knew that one myself and so did my granddaughter (3).
But we had a good laugh when we came to his number two – Galway – and all my grandkids are still laughing.
Now let me get serious. We always admired Galway footballers, renowned as a good, fair, sporting team down the years. At the moment, they are a fairly good team and with youth in their side they can become a very good team.
But, right now, they are definitely not number two, nor near it! Placing them number two for this year is an insult to supporters, players and management. Place them somewhere in the top 10, but please not before Monaghan, Tyrone and Donegal, and a few more that could be debated about.
Incidentally, Martin ranked Kerry second to Dublin two years ago. That was the year, in fact one of the years, in which Mayo drew with Dublin and were beaten by a point in the replay. Lo and behold, where were they placed? You guessed it right, they came in third.
Now, having got that off my chest let me wish Martin and the Galway team a happy new year, and while I am at it let me wish the Mayo team and all our long-suffering supporters an even happier new year.
Dr Frank Davey
Address with editor
Majority of electorate didn’t vote for abortion
As we enter 2019, we also bring in an era when in effect the most basic human right will be denied in law to the most vulnerable human being in our community – the child in the womb.
The ‘landslide mandate’ for this was really a 44pc vote, that is, 66pc of the 64pc of the electorate who actually voted. This reveals the chasm of democratic deficit at the heart of our legal system.
All we can hope for is a rethink and change of heart that will lead to a retreat from the abyss of destruction of human life that awaits our country.
Alex Reid
Rossylongan, Donegal Town
Time for a new pro-life political movement here
Fianna Fáil TD Michael McGrath expressed his dismay over the actions of 31 of his party’s TDs in asking for amendments to, or opposing, abortion legislation while it was being debated in the Dáil.
While 31 Fianna Fil TDs out of a total of the 44 currently in parliament may be a majority of that party, it does not mean these TDs are “opposed to the will of the people” or “out of step with the public”, as Michael McGrath puts it.
More than 700,000 people opposed repeal of the Eighth last May, roughly a third of the electorate that went to the polls. Those 700,000 people will be looking for ongoing political representation, and pro-life issues are a determining factor for many of them.
Perhaps those who supported repeal think 700,000 people and their families are simply going to disappear from the political landscape, pack their bags like the wild geese and leave these shores.
The road to repeal the 36th Amendment has just started, even if it is for the long haul. Any politician with real pro-life credentials – and not just claiming so in order to get elected last time round – should consider linking up with like-minded people for a whole new venture in Irish politics.
Such a party would represent the only really meaningful opposition across a range of issues in the current political climate. There are “seacht gcéad míle fáilte romhat” waiting for you.
Nick Folley
Carrigaline, Co Cork
No one on this island will be better off after Brexit
During 2018, I spent enough time wading through letters, articles, political speeches etc on the subject of Brexit to last me a lifetime. More fool I.
So for 2019, my motto is ‘Be reasonable, keep it short and simple’.
In that vein, let me say this. Apart from smugglers and associated groups and organisations, I cannot think of a single person on this island, North or South, who will be better off after Brexit than they are right now.
Should anyone, including members of the DUP, choose to disagree with me, let them keep it short and simple by stating clearly who, exactly, will be better off and why!
Brendan Casserly
Bishopstown, Co Cork
Thanks to all who helped my son when he fainted
An unexpected visit to A&E on Christmas Day was not the dire experience often presented.
After fainting at Mass, my 14-year-old son was assisted by at least 10 medical professionals; the nurses and doctors in the congregation, the rapid-response paramedic, the ambulance crew and the staff in Sligo accident and emergency.
It brought meaning to the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.
Thank you, Sligo.
Emma Purcell
Strandhill Road, Co Sligo
Source: Read Full Article