21st September, 2000
It has been a funny old week. At the Eircom
Shareholders Meeting the one time leader of the Labour Party Dick
Spring sat with the bosses of Eircom whilst a man one would
associate with the face of capitalism, Shane Ross sat with the
common folk. It brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye
as Dick Spring told the audience he had no cash to buy shares in
Eircom. He told us that people could check his bank account, it
was a fact he had no cash. Dick, I know people who were on the
dole who borrowed a few hundred pounds from the Credit Union to
buy shares. If you were a member of the Credit Union I'm sure
your application would have received a favourable review, but
then the bold Shane writes a piece in a Sunday newspaper and
tells us that your income last year was over £200,000. That's £4,000
a week, it's hard to live on £600 a day isn't it.
I'm told politicians were handing out leaflets last Sunday
outside the local churches. Do they know something the rest of us
don't know?
Did any of you see the large adverts in the Sunday papers asking
us “Are you awake or asleep” A tour been organised by
Human Life International (Ireland) is taking place this week.
This organisation tells us that the U.N and the E.U is actually
involved in the promotion of Abortion, Contraception, Graphic Sex
Education, Divorce, Homosexual practice and Radical Feminism. I
have no problem with people organising meetings, but what I do
find offensive is linking abortion with divorce and contraception,
homosexuality, radical feminism (whatever that is). I have always
maintained what two adults do in their bedroom is their own
business and nobody else's. As for divorce that is a civil right,
which should be available to anybody whose marriage is over. How
many people do we know who ‘stayed together for the sake of
the kids’, when the kids knew that their parents couldn't
stand each other. John Denver wrote a song called “falling
out of love” the words say it all. These organisations
always turn up when an election is looming. Does Nora Bennis know
something we don't?
I met a reader who spoke to me about a piece I wrote on the
situation in the City Centre during the weekend. She asked me
what my solution would be towards solving this huge and
increasing social problem. Last year I walked through the streets
of the City Centre on a Sunday morning. It made me sick! Litter,
urine in doorways, vomit on windows, and worse again side streets,
and the streets not cleaned until Monday. Is it right that a tax
paying & rate paying shop owner has to clean the contents of
someone's stomach off his window every Monday morning? (and not
just in the city centre) Do any of you remember a case in Dublin
last year when a youth kicked and broke a bottle, which was on
the footpath. The judge sentenced him to clean a road (both
footpaths) or face trial. The youth's Mother was on the radio
telling us that her son was been humiliated, and experts told us
that it could have a lasting physiological effect on the youth.
What a load of rubbish! The present situation is that somebody
found drunk & disorderly is fined about £30, which is
chicken feed to somebody earning £300 to £400 a week. Make them
clean up theirs and other people's mess, and they won't commit
that offence again.
Speaking of cleaning up, you all know how I feel about litter,
and the condition of Douglas (I've been writing about it now for
three years) Well at last things are beginning to happen. A
Douglas Tidy Towns Committee has been formed and they are to hold
a public meeting this Thursday at the Community Hall at 8.00. I
will be there, hope to see you there. Perhaps now we can get
something done about our area. Incidentally I hope to also see
all our politicians at the meeting. I'll let you know who turned
up.
Finally congratulations to my son Michael and his wife Aisling (daughter
of Tony & Helen Healy, Grange) on the birth of their first
child, a daughter on Monday night (well officially Tuesday 12.05
am)
Bye for Now,
Michael O’Hanlon.
PS Congratulations to the people of Frankfield on your new school,
and well done to everybody connected with its construction in a
record 5 weeks!
