Gerry reckons the Irish Times are taking the piss.
Date: Tue, 01 May 2001 14:42:46 +0100
From: “Gerry Carr” (spam-protected)
To: (spam-protected)
Subject: IT are taking the piss out of me
Mere days after I send them this letter
Dear Sir,
Having read Mr Cruishank’s invaluable insight into the Health Shambles, can I
offer the majority of your contributors a handy Irish Times letter generator;
Dear Sir/A Chara
How can one convince this Government that we need; a decent health system;
help for the homeless; housing for travellers; free care for drug addicts;
help for the 3rd World; free computers for every school; more social welfare
money; more money for teachers/nurses/doctors/public
servants/dustbinmen/soldiers wives
much more urgently than:
2 stadiums; a spike in O Connell Street; politicians’ beanos on St Patrick’s
Day; a Eurovision song contest; sponsoring a race car; bailing out RTE;
fireworks on the Liffey; a government jet/building/pay
rise/reception/refurbishment/chauffer/travel expenses/secretary/ etc.
Is the government lacking morals/priorities/reason/sense of
proportion/focus/ethics/
yours etc/Is mise [ADD NAME HERE]
Just delete as appropriate and you’ve got yourself 6 months worth of
material.
Yours etc.
They print these 4 in a row;
POLICY ON SPORTS STADIUMS
Sir, – Let’s see if I understand the £60 million offer of our money to the
GAA. It appears to have been offered the money to ensure that foreign games
would not be played at Croke Park (thereby strengthening case for Stadium
Ireland), and on the understanding that some key GAA matches would be played
at the folly. In effect, does this mean that the payment is designed to
ensure that Croke Park will be under-utilised? Just how far are our
politicians willing to go to support an ego trip which could cost a billion
or so by the time it is build? How will its annual financial costs of, say,
£60 million be met? That amount equates to a Croke Park “donation” for every
year to infinity! Surely, this money could be better used – to reduce the
national debt, improve the infrastructure, assist the underprivileged and so
on. Yours, etc.,
BRIAN FLANAGAN, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Sir, – The money being proposed for financing a national stadium in
Abbotstown would be equally well spent on a submerged clock counting down the
998-plus years, second by second, to the next millennium. – Yours, etc.,
JERRY TWOMEY, Woodlawn Court, Santry, Dublin 9.
Sir, – I would like our Taoiseach to complete the following sentence. I
believe that £1 billion should be spent on a national stadium and not on our
ailing health service because . . . – Is mise,
CIARAN MacAONGHUSA Baile an tSratha, Tír Chonaill.
Sir, – Haemophiliacs are offered £4 million, the GAA is to receive £60
million. What a great little country we live in. – Yours, etc.,
EAMONN TIERNEY, Beverly Avenue, Knocklyon, Dublin 16.