THE PEOPLE’S LETTERS PAGE

Dear Editor,

Following the wall-to-wall coverage of the downfall of Boris Johnson last week I feel it’s only fair to ask the question: Why is the Irish media obsessed with the UK?

We had our state broadcaster RTE leading with stories about Boris Johnson and the Tory party, along with countless debates on RTE radio on the same topic?

I know they are our closest neighbour, and the two States are linked because of Northern Ireland, but I still don’t think this warrants all the attention from our media.

It is my opinion that in this country our media fail to properly discuss and criticise our own politicians with the same vigour as they do British ones.

Last month I read that Ireland, apparently, is the most royal obsessed European country outside the UK.

This discovery was made after an analysis of Google search data to find out which countries take most interest in the British Royal family.

Even more shockingly, the research was carried out during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations!

Maybe it wasn’t the general Irish population who were mad for news about the British royals but our UK obsessed media!

After being independent from Britain for the last 100 years, maybe it’s time for our media to focus on issues closer to home and take off the old red, white and blue tinted glasses.

Yours sincerely,

Joe Curran,

Coolock

 

Dear Editor,

I would like to draw your readers attention to the following information about our Defence Forces:

1. As you sleep at night our Defence Forces are on duty on land, sea and air for such an insulting wage, allowance, contract, pension, and denial of the Working Time Directive that our Defence Forces, down in strength of approx 3000, are losing 40 from all services, NOT including officers, every month since Jan 2022.
2. Meantime we have troops from Donegal etc reporting into Dublin for training for Dublin Airport Authority. 100 troops will be used as cheap labour and receive 2 euro 25 cents an hour. Minister Ryan, his department senior civil servant and DAA management have failed our citizens. Our Defence Forces will not fail you.
3. The report on the Commission of Defence Forces (CODF) gathers dust after months of it being submitted, while two government ministers, their senior civil servants and their departments argue about money. Both ministers and their departments have failed our citizens. Our Defence Forces will not fail you.
4. Last Tuesday there was a 100-minute debate in Leinster House on our Defence Forces involvement in PESCO. At present, regardless of our Defence Forces being so under strength, Minister Coveney would presume to increase our overseas commitments.

Because of the understrength, those still serving are over tasked and exhausted & fatigued, with no Work Time Directive to offer them protection as they conduct operational duty on land , sea and air at home and overseas. Their strength should be 9,500 – a phantom figure for decades now as Retention and Recruitment are “managed” to fail!

The minister and department for defence have failed our citizens, yet those who Defend, Protect & Support our citizens and our country will not fail you.

In conclusion I could go on all day, I want to inform our citizens of where our Defence Forces are and where they are going – who defends Defence?

Meanwhile our Defence Forces will continue to Defend, Protect, Support you, while 100 of them will carry out the cheap labour for DAA.

Why? Because it’s what they do.

Together Forward –

Noel O Callaghan

Regiment Sergeant Major – retired.

 

Dear Editor.

The deaths and injuries that resulted from the collapse of a stand at a bullfight arena in Bogota, Columbia, were shocking, but also completely avoidable.

While nothing can take away from the grief caused to the families and friends of the victims, we can’t overlook the fact that the event itself amounted to nothing less than organized cruelty to animals.

Bullfighting is a relic of the ancient Roman coliseum where, for human amusement, animals of all kinds were pitted against each other in fights to the death.

The blood-lusting crowds cheered as innocent creatures paid the price of man’s inhumanity.

Exactly the same atmosphere prevails at modern bullfights, with fans oblivious to the suffering being meted out to the bulls.

These mighty animals are reduced to exhausted, quivering hulks by repeated stabbing with razor-sharp lances and are beaten over the kidneys prior to fights…all before the supposedly heroic and heavily romanticized Matador gets to plunge a sword between its shoulder blades.

Apart from occasional high profile accidents like the one in Bogota, all bullfights carry a risk of death or injury to the Matador and the annual so-called bull runs in Spain have resulted in fatalities and serious injury almost every year.

The Bogota tragedy occurred less than a fortnight after the largest bullring in the world, in Mexico City, closed its doors.

The closure was on animal welfare grounds as the “sport” is no longer accepted there thanks to years of campaigning and a humane court decision.

If the Bogota venue had followed Mexico City’s example those people would not have lost their lives, because bullfighting is a menace to man and beast.

On the wider question of recreational cruelty, I suggest It’s time for a global moratorium on ALL activities that involve the deliberate torture of animals for “sport”, including our own hare coursing and fox hunting.

These dark-age anachronisms should be seen only on tapestries, or within the frames of antique prints or paintings.

Every humane instinct cries out for their abolition.

Thanking you,

John Fitzgerald