There is nothing more infuriating than private companies being bailed out by the taxpayers of this country rewarding their top executives with bonuses.
Bonuses for plunging us into the quagmire with their out-of-control lending practices that pushed brainwashed clients into scarcity or had their homes repossessed.
We have seen over many decades that whenever there is a financial crisis, the beleaguered taxpayers of this country have been scapegoated by the executive/government for the bad practices of private institutions and government. individuals, who through their own selfish interests, in the absence of proper regulatory oversight, have profited from the shoddy approach to lending practices, while surrounding themselves with wealth and assets beyond their dreams.
We are now witnessing the return of exorbitant bonuses to bank executives that have led us to near bankruptcy.
This is another kick in the teeth for ordinary citizens living through the cost of living crisis and many other hardships, which those at the top of the money tree cannot even imagine.
We still pay for these mistakes through levies and taxes imposed on us, but we have a certain wealthy elite who don’t really care about other people’s struggles while rewarding themselves with bonuses and other riches.
Christy Galligan
Letterkenny
Co Donegal
Uncapped earnings for the next group of “risk takers”
I am desperate. As a taxpayer citizen who unwittingly bailed out the Irish banking system, I am now aware that banker salary caps may be scrapped and staff bonuses reinstated.
An Taoiseach and the Minister of Finance are totally unmoved; apparently banking regulations have been improved beyond measure and any future losses will be borne by shareholders.
Therefore, according to logic, the only way to attract “the right people” to the sector is to remove the paltry income limit of half a million euros and award ground troops bonuses of up to at €20,000.
How did this madness evolve? The banks were saved from their own ruinous and reckless behavior.
The banking industry knows full well – despite the supposed regulatory improvements – that in the event of future banking crises, the EU and the state will take exactly the same rescue measures as before.
Great comfort for the next generation of “risk takers” on uncapped multi-million dollar earnings.
This is absolute madness.
Larry Dunn
Rosslare Harbor
County Wexford
Drunk UCC students show no respect for local residents
The local resident population was once again subjected to widespread social behavior in the area on Thursday November 24, with UCC students having what is affectionately known as Christmas Day early in the morning.
From early morning queues formed outside pubs in the area and by early afternoon some of these pubs threw them onto the streets where loitering, drunkenness, knocking over trash cans and excessive noise became part of the equation and house parties followed.
The lack of respect for the small and large residential community of elderly people is simply shameful.
This region is not a resort. This community is permitted by law to enjoy the peace and quiet of their family homes and the area in which they reside.
Authorities continue to treat these offending students with washcloths with little or no impact on their behavior.
It is also a shame that most of our elected officials are so silent on these very serious issues.
Name and address with publisher
Tenancy compromised by excessive regulation
Christy Galligan from Letterkenny recently wrote in letters that the ‘housing crisis’ isn’t really a crisis at all as there are plenty of vacant homes across the country but very few available to rent. I have also observed that there are many vacant houses scattered all over the country here in the south. There are also many closed stores in towns where the owners lived overhead that are also vacant and just sitting there. When a landlord is sometimes asked if they had considered renting, the usual response is “ah, that’s too complicated”, meaning the category has become over-regulated and the landlord virtually loses control of his property.
The government now sets the terms and regulates who can be rented to, who cannot be refused, the length of the lease, what the house must contain and the duration of the lease, which means that the tenant, rather than the owner, now controls the asset. Once HAP is involved, another set of regulations come into effect and their property is treated as social housing.
In the past, a formal lease agreed between the two parties governed the terms. Now, however, the government has superimposed a whole series of regulations that have crippled this market. They want to partially blame Airbnb, but this market has grown in response to the huge increase in tourism we’ve seen in recent years. The crisis in our rental market is self-inflicted and the government is just tinkering on the fringes to solve it.
Desmond Sharp Bolster
Kanturk
Co Cork
Irish neutrality eroded by FG and FF
Too many generations of Irish men and women have fallen on foreign lands in the service of kings and queens for whom they were convenient cannon fodder.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil eroded Irish neutrality for years by allowing warplanes to refuel at Shannon and they also steered public opinion towards the provision of the Defense Force for the deployment of the EU.
To have young men and women fight in wars would be a big mistake.
Noel Harrington
Kinsale
Co Cork
Fine Gael has decimated our Defense Forces
Fine Gael councilor Ted Lucey calls for the army to be deployed to repair the potholes – ‘Potholes so bad’ that the army should be brought in to fill them all” (Irish Examiner , Nov. 30.) Another silly suggestion from someone who doesn’t understand or appreciate the purpose or duties of the Defense Forces.
Someone should remind Mr Lucey that his party has been in government for over ten years and not only are the roads unfit for purpose but Fine Gael have also succeeded in decimating the Defense Force, which are also not suitable for use.
With a barely functioning naval service and all units of the Defense Force in force, this is a pretty damning indictment of the management of the defense portfolio during their tenure.
Conor Hogarty
black rock
Co Dublin
Early expectation of Easter eggs
With many homes displaying Christmas lights etc. over the past few weeks, I confidently expect to see Easter eggs in stores any day now.
Tom Gilsenan
Beaumont
Dublin 9
Irene Cara lit up the dark and depressing 80s
I felt enormous sadness when the death of singer/songwriter Irena Cara was announced last weekend.
Mostly known for her iconic hits “Fame” and “Flashdance…What a Feeling.” His songs have become a pop cultural phenomenon that has created legendary dance scenes.
For a generation of 1980s teenagers like me, Irene Cara taught us how to fly at local youth clubs, nightclubs and dance halls. This new type of dance had us practicing our routines behind our bedroom doors. It brought a new style to my conservative little town with us youngsters donning lycra and fluorescent leggings.
We religiously watched the TV series Fame which aired on RTÉ 2. In a pre-MTV and streaming era there wasn’t much television aimed at teenagers, but this show, with its theme music, sung by Cara, was a new anthem. The show focused on a group of ambitious, artistic kids and their struggles in New York City, a far cry from the rural community school I attended in the Beara Peninsula. Cara told us to follow our passion and make it happen. However, the reality of that time, in a depressed country, told us otherwise. The news was getting grimmer by the day, with poverty and deprivation making headlines. Immigration was happening in my area at an alarming rate. Every week there was news of more young people setting off by bus, boat and plane to the bright lights of England or America. They had no intention of enrolling in a fancy dance academy but going to work, any kind of job would do, especially when the unemployment lines were rising day by day. For school children about to face the real world, it was a precarious time. Most of us knew that we would have no choice but to leave our homeland in the hope of having a better life.
But for a few weekend hours at the local nightclub, Irene Cara told us to light up the sky like a flame, which was a nice feeling that meant something while dancing with my homies before we were all on the point of leaving the nest and flying away. .
Remember his name.
Mary Henry
bantry
Co Cork
Courts must crack down on thugs
The discussion about arming all gardaí is a no-start. We already have armed gardaí in the ARU/ERU branches, that should be enough to deal with any armed threat.
The recent attacks on the gardaí are nothing new. The deterrent must be the justice system, which has become lenient in the face of this type of violence.
Christy Galligan
Letterkenny
Co Donegal
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