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Irish Independent
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: As more public money is thrown away, keeping faith in RTÉ is a big ask
Media Minister Patrick O'Donovan was on RTÉ granting absolution. 'We need a functioning public service broadcaster,' he said, and expressed confidence in the current management. Where is this need? And for whom? A total of €725m of our money has already been committed to RTÉ over three years. Then add in licence fee and advertising revenue. This is all despite the established financial mismanagement of the recent past and the utter avoidance by the then RTÉ management to be held accountable. And remember that the so-called top talents are still paid enormous contracts/salaries that are mostly funded by the public purse. I have to wonder how any reasonable person can have faith in RTÉ's self-assigned public service remit of 'holding power to account'. Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford World leaders must wake up and demand an end to Israel's siege of Palestine It has now been two long, harrowing months since Israel reinstated a total siege on Gaza, blocking the entry of life-saving humanitarian aid and commercial goods into a region already devastated by war. Desperation has reached unspeakable levels. Mothers are boiling grass to feed their families. Children are suffering unbearable hunger, trauma, violence and abandonment. ADVERTISEMENT Gaza's hospitals, already crippled, are close to collapse, unable to function without essential medicines, vaccines and equipment. Women, girls and other vulnerable groups face escalating risks of gender-based violence. Stocks in aid warehouses are nearly gone. Palestinian organisations continue to seek to supply desperate communities through local markets, but they are facing eye-watering prices. Yet it seems world leaders are distracted while the ethnic cleansing and likely genocide of Palestinians rages on. As the UN secretary general put it, Gaza is a killing field and its civilians are trapped in an endless death loop. The weaponisation of aid, including withholding food, water, healthcare and shelter, has led to a surge in preventable deaths and threatens the dignity and survival of Palestinians in Gaza. This is a preventable atrocity, and it does nothing to address the horror of the remaining hostages and their families. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have intensified military operations in the occupied West Bank, severely disrupting humanitarian aid delivery there. World leaders must demand an immediate end to the blockade. Karol Balfe, CEO ActionAid Ireland, Dublin Clear double standards in the media when it comes to reporting on Gaza war A recent attack by Russia on the city of Sumy in Ukraine in which 34 people were killed was described in the western media as a massacre. The greater numbers murdered in Gaza are described as killed or, worse still, reported as killed. Israelis held in Gaza are referred to as hostages while thousands of Palestinians are called prisoners. Why? The Israeli army is called a defence force. The media reports that Israel is blocking aid to Gaza, instead of saying it is starving the captive population. Israelis who evict Palestinians from their properties in the West Bank and beat and kill them are called settlers. Is this the best description of them? Every article appears to mention that 'the war started on October 7'. There is never a mention of the thousands of Palestinians killed before that date, including many children. Is it really a war when only one side has planes, tanks and cruise missiles? Michael Jordan, Dundalk, Co Louth If you thought Trump's first 100 days were bad, you ain't seen nothing yet The world has survived Donald Trump's first 100 days, but it has been nothing short of a car crash. His tariffs policy has been rife with threats and bluffs, culminating in pauses, deferment and capitulation to trading partners – or rather, the bond markets. His 'end wars strategy' by the 'art of the steal' isn't playing out as well as he thought in Gaza and Ukraine. America is joined at the hip with the world economy, and going on solo runs doesn't work when you're so dependent on non-American resources. What's in store for the rest of his term? Death by a thousand cuts on the shifting sands of Trumpism, or will his money friends desert him when those MAGA promises cost too much? It might be worth the watch. Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18 We should all celebrate Protestant influence on Irish society and culture I am at one with Chris Fitzpatrick on the positive relationship between Presbyterianism and the Irish language ('Heartening to see the Presbyterian celebration of forgotten Irish links' – Letters, April 30). Apart from the Irish language, there are many academic achievements by members of Ireland's Protestant community in Irish literature, music and wider culture, which is a reminder of the considerable influence the community in Ireland has had on Irish culture. Dr Douglas Hyde, the first president of Ireland, was one of the founders of the Gaelic League; painter Sarah Purser established An Túr Gloine; WB Yeats and Lady Gregory formed the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899, which then became the Abbey Players in 1904. George Petrie and Edward Bunting are responsible for the wealth of ancient Irish music in our archives, while JM Synge, George Russell (AE) and Kathleen Lynn were all major contributors to the shaping of modern Ireland. Tom Cooper, Templeogue, Dublin 6 Tables have turned on the Dubs, but at least it gives hope to all their rivals The sports blurb on the cover of the Irish Independent on May 1 looked ominous for Dublin ('Dublin facing nightmare draw in group phase'). Gone are the days when a headline such as this would read '[insert any county outside the capital] facing nightmare draw against Dublin'. Ah, well.
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Letters: New office aimed at boosting house-building needs additional primary legislation to achieve its aims
'This office will help secure the enabling infrastructure needed for public and private housing development and unblock infrastructure delays on the ground, maximising the number of homes delivered from the supply pipeline already in place,' he said in response to Dáil questions. The house construction target is 300,000 units from now to 2030. In 1975, just under 27,000 new homes were built; in that year we had a population of 3.19 million. The estimated 2024 population, based on the Census 2022 figure of 5.149 million, is 5.394 million. There were 30,330 new dwelling completions in the whole of 2024. Acknowledging the large number of completions in the 'housing boom' era, the historical fact remains that last year just over 6,000 more homes were completed than 1975, despite a population increase of over 2,200,000 (59pc) in that period. The SHAO faces enormous challenges: unblocking infrastructural delays; facilitating a climate whereby builders can access finance to engage in major developments; increasing the number of houses built directly by housing authorities; minimising the effects of the Nimby culture and judicial reviews; and somehow providing a proper supply of affordable homes for purchase, rather than renting. We are facing a tenure crisis that would have Michael Davitt spinning in his grave, with hundreds of thousands of citizens living in accommodation in which they have not a bathroom tile of equity. Unfortunately, as I cannot see how the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2024 address any of these issues, or the crippling complexity of our planning process, without empowering additional primary legislation I fear the SHAO mission is doomed. Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford Why appoint a housing tsar when we already have somebody to do the job? It is the job of the Housing Minister to be the 'housing tsar'. Bill O'Rourke, Crumlin, Dublin 12 Hefty salary of €430,000 would be better spent on providing family homes The €430,000 salary flagged for the next housing tsar would be better spent on renting homes for up to 20 families currently living in emergency accommodation. ADVERTISEMENT Of course, it would also mean not introducing just another bureaucratic layer in attempts to actually solve the housing crisis. Peter Declan O'Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan Minister could easily field a couple of football teams with all those assistants Jim O'Sullivan ('Government should stop building empires and start building homes instead' Irish Independent, Letters, April 30) points out that the Housing Minister is supported by three junior ministers, a general secretary and nine assistant secretaries (I would assume several 'advisers' also). Does the appointment of a so-called housing tsar mean the Government does not have confidence in the minister to carry out his duties? Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork Chasm growing between Roman Catholicism and Christianity this century Following the death of Pope Francis, public deliberation on the tenets and beliefs of his successor is widespread. Currently, a group from the US is lobbying cardinals in Rome to appoint a man they wish will undo the great Christian work of Francis. The chasm between Roman Catholicism and actual Christianity is sadly becoming larger in the 21st century. In Robert Harris's excellent fictional novel Conclave, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, disturbed after a dialogue with Cardinal Benitez, thought to himself (page 279): 'Was it really possible that he had spent the last 30 years worshipping the church rather than God?' This sentence, and ignorance of the tradition that cardinals appeal to the Holy Spirit for guidance in electing a pope, illustrates a clear refusal by some to trust God, while ignoring the importance of the Trinity, both as individuals and one God. That they opt to put labels on any who are not of their ilk is totally unchristian. Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia Trump got dressing-down for dressing up – in a blue suit – at Francis's funeral Some sections of the media will stoop to any low to have a go at Donald Trump, probably resulting from a fit of childish pique, having got the US election result so disastrously wrong. The latest, almost farcical weapon of choice, is what one might call 'Blue Suit-Gate'. Apparently, some of these hard-bitten hacks have gone all sensitive over Mr Trump wearing a blue suit at Pope Francis's funeral. The facts undermine this bout of pseudo-fashion sensitivity. First, funeral etiquette dictates that it is perfectly acceptable to wear a blue suit at a funeral, particularly if one is not a chief mourner. I have to confess to the media fashion police that I have comm- itted this 'crime' myself. Guilty as charged. Second, and more importantly, if one looks at the rows of dignitaries seated behind Mr Trump, a substantial number were also wearing, you've guessed it, blue suits. One suspects that had Mr Trump worn a dark suit, it would have been judged as the wrong shade of dark. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath Policies have ruffled a few feathers, but president's pace of change impressive Much of what has been written about Donald Trump's first 100 days has been negative – and perhaps justifiably so ('In a mere 100 days, Trump has created a more volatile world', Editorial, April 30). His policies have strained international alliances, unsettled economies and divided public opinion at home and abroad. Yet one cannot ignore the sheer pace at which his administration has moved. In an era when political processes often crawl forward, his ability to implement change – for better or worse – is remarkable. There is an uncomfortable lesson here: energy and initiative, even when misguided, can leave more deliberate democracies wrong-footed. Those who value steadiness and principle must now match that urgency not with haste, but with conviction and a clarity of purpose that resonates across borders.
