Letters to the Editor, August 20th: On the long wait for Leaving Cert results, loving bikes, and Maurice for the Áras

Irish Times

18 hours ago

Sir, – This week my family, like many others, is nervously awaiting the CAO offers on August 27th.
We are trying not to worry about the 6,000 additional applicants, and how this will affect points for our daughter's chosen university programmes.
We also know that we can do nothing to address the unfair playing field that is the points race.
Leaving Certificate results continue to be artificially inflated, whereas our daughter, who completed the European Baccalaureate examination in Brussels will not benefit from any post-marking adjustment.
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Most of all, we are amazed that Ireland treats its young people so poorly. How can it be acceptable that Leaving Certificate results are only published on August 22nd, offers made five days later, and students and their families are expected to organise themselves to start their studies in just a couple of weeks? All this in a country experiencing a massive housing crisis.
Ireland is an outlier in this regard. Our daughter received her European Baccalaureate results in the first week of July. Similarly, across most European countries, students obtain their results in late June or early July.
Most of our daughter's friends accepted university places at European universities months ago, and they have had time over the summer to secure accommodation in student residences or in private apartments.
Whereas, our daughter and all Irish students are stuck in a limbo all summer and then faced with a stressful mad scramble.
Why can we not treat our young people and their families better? – Yours, etc,
DR VICTORIA BRUCE,
Brussels,
Belgium.
Connolly and the presidency
Sir, – I was baffled to read your reporting on Saturday (August 16th)regarding Catherine Connolly's views on our Defence Forces.
Deputy Connolly states: 'They are not, and should never become, an army. Armies fight wars. Ireland does not need an army.'
This is quite odd, given that our Defence Forces consist of the Army, Navy, Air Corps, and Reserves.
While lamenting that they are 'increasingly militarised' Deputy Connolly also states that, 'Our Defence Forces exist to protect our people and our sovereignty.'
How is it intended that they will serve this function without being 'militarised' and without being willing to fight a (defensive) war?
Lastly, Deputy Connolly lists among countries that we 'cannot trust' France, England (sic) and the United States. Yet she is insistent that these permanent members of the United Nations Security Council should retain a veto over deployment of our Defence Forces.
These confused and contradictory views are concerning for a candidate aspiring to be Supreme Commander of our Defence Forces. – Yours, etc,
DAVE McGINN,
Naas,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – Congratulations on making a page one story from the fact that Catherine Connolly TD, our only confirmed presidential candidate at this stage, believes Ireland 'cannot trust' the United States, Britain and France when it comes to international law.
After witnessing almost two years of the horror in Gaza, which has been armed and funded by the United States, Britain, Germany, France and others, it is hardly shocking that a vocal campaigner for peace is willing to condemn the US in particular, as the country which could have stopped the genocide in an instant.
Not only has the US armed, funded, supported and abetted the slaughter of civilians in one of the most crowded places on earth, which is half the size of Co Louth, it has repeatedly used its veto at the United Nations Security Council to block attempts to bring some relief to the traumatised people of Gaza.
At the same time, we are seeing protesters in their 70s and 80s in the United Kingdom getting arrested and threatened with imprisonment for the terrible crime of wearing Palestine Action t-shirts at protest marches and demonstrations.
Meanwhile, there does not seem to be any consequences at all for the UK-based arms companies who supply weapons to Israel or the UK pilots who fly recognisance flights on behalf of the army which is dropping the bombs on displaced civilians in tents every day.
I would be appalled if any candidate for the presidency of Ireland felt that these countries have a 'moral compass' left at this stage, – Yours, etc,
CIARAN TIERNEY,
Galway city.
Maurice for the Áras?
Sir, – It was with great joy that I read Maurice Manning's letter on Monday (August 18th). It brought me back to his lectures in UCD, extremely well attended, as he imparted knowledge, a witty raconteur, while, practically as ever, reminding us he did not like correcting exams in August.
While his analysis is certainly correct, there is much merit to a quiet life, I also feel that his companions in Smyth's were on to something and 'Maurice for the Áras' would have us all feeling the benefit had he decided on that path instead. – Yours , etc,
NIAMH BYRNE,
Fairview,
Dublin 3.
Trump and Mr Magoo
Sir, – For some time I have mused over the dominant personality within Donald Trump.
I have narrowed it down to two, both of which were on display as he welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders to the Oval Office.
On the one hand we have the daydreaming Walter Mitty, self-mythologising as heroic and admired, the most successful business man, greatest dealmaker and settler of wars.
On the other we have Mr Magoo, recklessly oblivious to reality, ignoring facts, stumbling from faux pas to faux pas, miraculously escaping the reproach rightly to be expected after such egregious behaviour.
Overall, I think Mr Magoo wins. – Yours, etc,
PAT MURPHY,
Co Wicklow.
Ryanair responses
Sir, – Ryanair's response to Pricewatch in relation to their 'minors policy' was unpleasant insofar as it was insulting, abusive and derogatory toward their customers and Mr Pope.
If you take out the unpleasant bits, the answer to the questions remains unchanged. I must assume that the insulting, abusive and derogatory bits are also company policy and this is why they were included.
One wonders if the unpleasantness policy is mandated by the board of the company or simply its executives? And also, what purpose it serves? – Yours, etc,
ROB STRUNZ,
Scariff,
Co Clare.
Sir, – I don't believe it.
Ryanair is set to increase the number of seats out of Ireland by 15.5 per cent this winter. ('R
yanair adds 600,000 seats to Irish winter schedule
,' August 16th).
In the midst of rising temperatures and numerous wildfires in Europe, Ryanair are actually planning to increase the amount of warming greenhouse gas they are pumping into the atmosphere.
What kind of insanity is this? – Yours, etc,
CELESTINE O'REILLY,
Foxrock,
Dublin.
Portiuncula Hospital
Sir, – I understand that five separate reviews identified serious concerns with maternity care at Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway.
In these circumstances it seems difficult to understand why people are arranging protests to demand the restoration of such services at the same hospital facility. – Yours, etc,
BILLY HANNIGAN,
Limekiln,
Dublin 12.
Older people and large houses
Sir, – Lorcan Sirr plays an old record when he posits that 'owning a large house doesn't mean you are wealthy'. ('Older renters are particularly vulnerable amid Ireland's housing crisis,' August 18th)
He (or the headline writer) asks 'Who is anybody to tell an older person that their house is too big for their needs?' – a loaded question if ever there was one.
Our constitution rightly guarantees property rights; however, the simple fact is that most pensioners are currently receiving benefits (pension and health) far in excess of the contributions they have made to the PRSI system.
Asset inflation on the other hand means their housing assets are worth far in excess of what they paid (with no Capital Gains Tax and minuscule property tax). It's instructive that social welfare means testing explicitly excludes the principal private residence, but modest savings of a renter are included.
Pity the younger 'generation rent' working and paying high rates of income tax to fund the pensions of the propertied generation.
It is also a pathetic reflection on Ireland's banking and legal establishment that bridging finance is absent; my suspicion is that since being stung during the boom, banks are focused on simple lending where they will not be required to bring drawn-out court cases against obstinate 'hard luck cases' when things go awry. – Yours, etc,
MATTHEW GLOVER,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
You, me and my lovely bike
Sir, I am writing in response to Sean Mooney (You, me and my lovely SUV, Letters , August 18th)) and to declare my undying and unconditional love for my bicycle.
I am unapologetic about its practically non-existent running costs, superfluous health benefits and ability to park almost anywhere.
I sit, pedalling past queues of traffic in smug satisfaction that I am not harming the health of the local population with toxic fumes or accelerating climate change with CO2 emissions.
I arrive at my destination at a time not dictated by traffic and muse on my most recent journey in an SUV.
Sitting sedentary in traffic, watching my bank balance drain as the fuel empties, inhaling toxic chemicals and listening to inane rubbish and endless advertisements on the radio.
Sean's claim about tax being applied to whatever is popular is patently wrong – nobody in Amsterdam pays a tax to cycle.
His claims of improved safety and lowest ever emissions are conspicuous for their lack of evidence.
This answer as to why is simple – there is none. Marginally improved emissions may be applauded, only for the fact the number of cars on Irish roads has almost doubled in the past 25 years, obliterating any benefit in this regard.
The sad reality is that the world is burning. We need urgent affirmative action, unity and meaningful discourse. Instead, we get outlandish opinions published in an effort to drive engagement through outrage.
I cannot tell who is most at fault in this sorry exchange – Mr Mooney for his views, The Irish Times for promoting them, or me for rising to the bait. – Yours, in hope of a world where we are all better than this.
EANNA MULVIHILL,
Ashtown,
Dublin.
Carbon credits and promises
Sir, – If last week's opinion article in The Irish Times is to be believed ('A wolf in sheep's clothing, the false promise of carbon credits', Science & Climate, August 14th), carbon markets 'almost always fail' and offer nothing but false promises.
That makes for a strong headline, but it's far from the truth.
The article's author, Karol Balfe of ActionAid Ireland, calls carbon markets a 'moral failure'. But I've seen them keep forests standing, fund schools, and put food on the table, especially in local communities in the Global South.
We can't both be right, so let's look at the evidence.
Balfe claims that carbon markets 'almost always fail to provide any real climate benefit,' citing the Guardian newspaper article that claimed 90 per cent of rainforest offsets certified by Verra were 'phantom credits.'
However, Nature Climate Change found these projects have a solid scientific basis. Cambridge researchers say REDD+ slows deforestation in high-threat regions. And independent rating agencies call the Guardian's figures 'hugely overstated.'
Balfe's most troubling claim is that projects 'have a history of failing to deliver for communities' in the Global South, particularly in Africa.
As someone from Africa, and the CEO of the world's leading carbon standards body, I can tell you this is simply not true.
Yes, like in any market, there have been missteps in some carbon projects. Yes, like in any market, there have been bad actors and even lawbreakers. That's true of every sector in the world.
But to dismiss the entire mechanism as something that 'simply does not work' is an oversimplification that does more harm than good.
I can't help but wonder if critics of this 'failed' system have visited carbon projects.
Like the TIST programme in Kenya, where farmers have planted 26 million trees and funded food, schools, and resilience.
Or Pakistan's Delta Blue Carbon project, restoring 600,000 hectares of mangroves, creating 15,000 jobs, and sequestering 142 million tonnes of CO2?
These aren't failures. They are real projects, delivering measurable climate benefits and life-changing community impacts every day.
Here's where we can agree with Balfe though: carbon markets must keep improving. They must be transparent, deliver tangible benefits, and have mechanisms in place that weed out bad actors.
On that, there's no disagreement.
But her proposed 'alternatives' (rapid decarbonisation, progressive taxation, vast increases in public climate finance, and fully funded just transitions) read more like a wish list than a workable plan.
Of course we need all of those things. The question is when and how?
These measures are politically stalled, chronically underfunded, and often decades away from scale...if they ever arrive.
Meanwhile, communities facing climate impacts today cannot eat promises of future taxation reform.
They cannot replace lost livelihoods with unfulfilled finance pledges. And they cannot wait for the 'perfect' system while their forests are being cut down right now.
The hard truth is this: we don't have the luxury of pitting one solution against another.
We need rapid decarbonisation and high-integrity carbon markets.
We need public finance and private capital flowing through proven mechanisms that already deliver results on the ground.
Balfe wants to throw away one of the few functioning tools we have .
Well-run carbon projects deliver every single day.
The alternative isn't just worse. It's unthinkable. Yours, etc.
MANDY RAMBHAROS,
CEO,
Verra,
Washington.
Not a record
Sir, – Mairéad Cashman spotted an open ham sandwich on a menu in a restaurant in Co Clare last week, priced at €22.50 and wonders if this is a record ? ( Letters, August 19th ).
No, this is a rip off. €7.50 would be a record. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK O'BYRNE,
Dublin 7.