Villagers: Letters To The Editor 2005-01-29

Thank you for the interview with Gerry Adams (Village 15 January). It highlighted the innate hypocrisy of Sinn Féin. For once I got the impression Adams was uneasy at the persistent repeating of questions on which he was fudging his responses.

Adams was shown to be very selective in what he wants to believe and not believe. Clearly the bank robbery was a major embarrassment to him, not only in itself, but in highlighting the frightening level of criminality within the IRA.

It might be more difficult to deal with this aspect of the situation than some others, and Adams knows this. As regards the IRA money from criminality, we all know, from tribunals and the CAB, how others have managed to launder the proceeds from criminality and tax evasion. The IRA, as a criminal organisation, must have its own methods to launder its ill-gotten gains and to use at least some of the proceeds for the benefit of Sinn Féin. What kind of eejits does Adams think we are?

Frank McGowan

Bray, Co. Wicklow

Our Progressive Democrat Ministers McDowell and Harney are again off on another anti-Sinn Féin tirade. Armed (can I use that word?) with "expert" PSNI opinion concerning the recent Northern Bank robbery as an excuse, the PDs are back at what they no doubt believe they do best – abusing Sinn Féin.

We all remember their verbal onslaughts before last year's local and European elections. It did not seem to work, however, as Sinn Féin gained over twice the votes of the PDs and are still a much larger party. Indeed the PDs' attitude to the elections left a lot to be desired – not even bothering to stand in the European elections.

Nowadays, the PDs, with less than four per cent of the people's vote, still hold two powerful positions in government – positions totally disproportionate to the support for that party. This has caused the PDs to behave as though they are the main Government party. They have no respect for the support Sinn Féin has gained at the ballot box and appear to be satisfied to simply position numerous hurdles in the way of Sinn Féin's continuing successful democratic progress. The question must be asked – why?

There is no doubt that there is an element of arrogance in their constant criticism of Sinn Féin. McDowell and Harney still see themselves and their party as watchdogs – ensuring the country is "protected" from a one-party Fianna Fáil government. They appear to have now moved on to "protecting" us all from Sinn Féin as well.

They also want to ensure that the alleged criminality of IRA actions from more than 30 years ago becomes a main issue for all current Sinn Féin representatives and for the public. In doing so they have deliberately created a hierarchy of deaths in the six counties. The tragic death of Jean McConville in 1972 has been selectively promoted and used to score political points.

There is no mention of the Bloody Sunday deaths of that same year, no mention of the young children killed by plastic bullets or indeed anybody killed by the forces of the crown. They simply do not register on the PDs' scale of deaths.

Yes, it is true, they are an arrogant bunch, but it must also be remembered that the Progressive Democrats are running scared of Sinn Féin. They realise that if Sinn Féin's political progress continues, the Fianna Fáil party will eventually turn to Sinn Féin as a possible partner in government. If this were to happen, the PDs would be left on the scrapheap of Irish politics with a diminishing percentage of the people's vote and nowhere to go.

Suddenly it all begins to make sense. The Progressive Democrats will consequently do their utmost to maintain the status quo of Irish politics by keeping Sinn Féin on the fringes as long as they can. Hence their ongoing criticisms of all things republican. Hence their ongoing vendetta against Sinn Féin.

Another question that springs to mind concerns how exactly the PDs get away with it all. My own opinion is that the media in Ireland – with a few notable exceptions – are happy to go along with the PD view of Sinn Féin. Interviews on radio or television involving Sinn Féin members will generally be full of interruptions from the interviewer. Interviews with Ministers McDowell or Harney will be more like party political broadcasts on behalf of their party.

When have you ever heard an interviewer question either McDowell or Harney about the reason for their attacks on Sinn Féin? Rarely, if ever – but you will often hear interviewers interrogate Gerry Adams about criminality and the IRA, a subject initially raised by McDowell.

In a similar vein, you will see many newspaper columnists use Progressive Democrat phraseology in their columns critical of Sinn Féin. Indeed many journalists will refuse to refer to Sinn Féin and constantly refer to Sinn Féin/IRA. It would be a revelation to see any form of a Sinn Féin viewpoint aired in the Irish media these days. It is simply non-existent unless put forward a by Sinn Féin member in the course of an interview.

It would be interesting, for example, if the PDs themselves, who helped appoint Ray Burke as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the coalition government of 1997, were to be the subject of a few questions as to how much they knew about Burke prior to that appointment. It should be helpful in that it was less than 30 years ago as well. Can you imagine the reaction from the PDs had Sinn Féin appointed Burke as a Minister and joined him in government? The hypocrisy of it all.

I have no doubt that the PD tirade against Sinn Féin will continue. For them it is the status quo or the political scrapheap. Let the people decide.

Enda Fanning

Castleknock, Dublin 14

As a part of this Government, the Progressive Cohort cannot pick and choose its responsibilities to the detriment of justice and human rights.

The Progressive Democrats have fully backed the landing of 160,000 Coalition of the Willing soldiers in the past year and a lot of armaments at Shannon airport on its way to Iraq, to a war which has not got the support of the United Nations!

Last weeks photographs of torture by Coalition of the Willing troops and the bestiality of Tel-Afar ( the shooting of the parents in front of their six children in the back of the car by these troops), has been greeted by PD Ministers Mary Harney and Michael McDowell with delicious silence.

The PDs are up to their necks in their support for this illegal war, and they do not know how they did it and do not accept any responsibility. Minority irresponsibility, minority selectivity, minority amnesia, minority justice!

Peter Kennedy

Sutton, Co Dublin

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children has promised improvements by the autumn in our accident & emergency departments. Why should we believe her?

This Government has been in power for eight years with massive extra revenue. Surely eight years was enough time to put in 500 extra beds. That would resolve this issue in the morning.

I also notice that a lot of commentators appear to be afraid to examine former Minister Martin's record on this issue. The reality for the people on trolleys is that successive ministers have not delivered. People are sick and tired of all the spin, while our sick are treated with contempt. This week we have seen that Irish economic wealth per head of population overtook that of the US for the first time late last year. Why then are patients suffering on trolleys?

Finian McGrath TD

Independent (Dublin North Central)

The news that Denis O'Brien is being linked with a possible takeover of the communications company NTL fills me with a mixture of dread and resignation.

In the late 1980s, having suffered years of discrimination through lack of television choice, I finally enjoyed the pleasure of a deflected signal with perfect reception from some high perch in the north of the county. I paid a once-off installation fee. At last I was on a level playing pitch. But not for long.

The Department of Communications decided that the successful RTÉ Relays Company should be sold to Cablelink. Legislation soon followed, the effect of which was to scupper my deflected viewing and force me into the reception of Cablelink's service to "rural" areas via a microwave signal, complete with dubious health implications and the loss of the ability to record one channel while viewing another.

Under former Minister Mary O'Rourke's stewardship in the Department of Communications, Cablelink was sold to NTL. The cost of the service increased with great frequency, and in 2003, the final absurdity was foisted upon me in the guise of a digital "upgrade". This promised better sound and picture quality and a huge increase in the range of viewing options.

Instead, I got an unreliable picture, haphazard sound, dreadful "additional channels" (including the loss of Eurosport) and most heinous of all, the disintegration of teletext services, to the point where it is too frustrating to try to use.

All the while there are those around me who continue to access the deflected and illegal signal from the hilltop and pour scorn on my pathetic law-abiding stance of paying way over the odds for an appalling service.

Over the years, cable television has exercised the public imagination. Donegal even returned a TD on the strength of the issue. Thomas Gildea didn't light up the Dáil chamber with his contributions, but he had his day in the sun.

In Ireland of the contradictions, we pass legislation, lay down the law, and then promptly ignore those who break it – whether it is the big stuff (tribunals, the loss of civic society), the unworkable (rod licences), the cynical (penalty points and road traffic enforcement generally) and the ridiculous, such as the licencing of cable television companies while allowing illegal operations to continue unimpeded.

At least when Cablelink started operating, they contracted local servicemen and operated a local office to which I could address the usual range of queries. When NTL took over, they closed their premises in Galway city. One recent affect of this is that a call which I could log locally in the space of two or three minutes, took me a half hour holding for an operator in the call centre.

All the while NTL thanked me for my patience, and reminded me in dulcet tones how important my call was to them. When I finally got to speak to a human being, she offered me a service call in 10 days time. When Cablelink started up in Galway, the call response was on a next-day basis.

My experience of the legally provided cable television service where I live, is that it reflects with each passing year a perfect metaphor for rip-off Ireland – an inexpensive and reliable service was made illegal to be replaced by an expensive, shoddy and anonymous one.

Why couldn't the reasonably priced and community-oriented television deflection schemes be left in place? Obviously money was at the root of it. A company owned by Sir Anthony O'Reilly was at the forefront in the push for legislation to ban deflected television. Now another expatriate billionaire seems intent on cashing in on an all-too-gullible viewing public.

Gerard Burke

Oranmore, Galway