Texts and emails, Monday 11 January 2010

Topic:  The ongoing political crisis that threatens to engulf Northern Ireland. 

Panellists: Suzanne Breen, Northern Editor with the Tribune, Fergus Finlay of Barnardos, Historian Eunan O'Halpin, Edel Kennedy of the Irish Independent and Mary Regan of the Irish Examiner. 

Bertie should be tax exempt on his book because nobody should buy it!

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Why did former Minister for Education take his children out of school, the minister who brought in 'integrity' of school year?

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Councillors who voted against building on flood plains saw their vote go down in June local elections. About time people start blaming themselves. 

John, Kildare.

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The Dept. of the Environment forced local authorities to up their housing densities so that local councils had to grant permission for large numbers of houses per case. This reduced even further the green space available.

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There are thousands of people in Donegal still trapped in their homes on non gritted roads with no water or heating for three weeks. The government just does not care. You are right the government should take a permanent holiday.

Pat, Donegal.

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I live in Laois and have suffered water supply interruptions since twentieth December. County are to blame for building houses with no planning re water capacity. Roll on summer. No water now for three days. Forget the film, we have four wees and a bucket. Hello Dublin this is rural Ireland calling. 

A bucket user.

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Fergus has really summed it all up by saying: 'Peter Robinson is a man in a very bad state'. I don't know if Fergus had intended d double layer of meaning within his comment. 

Michele, Dublin 12.

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To procure the peace process, vicious killers had to be released from prison. Now people would jeopardise that same process due to an undeclared sum of £70K? Get real, we've had worse and all we get are tribunals. 

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It is very irresponsible of the Robinsons to use the guise of mental health issues as a means of saving careers and lifestyles, power at any cost, it’s an insult to real genuine sufferers. 

Adrian, Mayo.