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Rugby fans have been let down IT WAS the best of times,
it was the worst of times.
Oh well, let’s admit it it was just the worst of times. How Ireland
managed to make such a total disaster of their Rugby World Cup participation
is anyone’s guess.
Except it shouldn’t be.
Supporters contacting The Irish Post this week have been united in one
thing — a feeling of betrayal over waking up on the day after the
defeat by Argentina to hear coach Eddie O’Sullivan defending his
position and stridently stating he would not resign.
No apologies, no explanation as to what went wrong, no promise that lessons
would be learnt for the future.
Which really is all we wanted to hear.
Eddie O’Sullivan has been the most successful manager in Irish rugby
history.
He has fashioned a squad which on its day can take on any other team in
the world and have a decent chance of winning.
Which is why with that talent on tap the failure to progress from their
group at the biggest rugby tournament in the world seems unbelievable.
But what is even more unbelievable is the fact that nothing has been said
about the hundreds of fans who paid their hard-earned cash to follow this
group of Irish heroes to a competition some thought we might win.
Sport depends upon the fans to make it what it is. They invest huge amounts
of time, energy and money into their passion.
Can it be beyond the wit of the Irish Rugby Federation to hold their hands
up and say the people who pay their wages have been let down?
No restraint
TAXES and death are supposed to be the two certainties in life.
Well not exactly.
Ireland’s five independent deputies in Dáil Éireann
will each receive more than ?39,000 a year from the Party Leaders’
Allowance on top of their other benefits, expenses, and annual salaries.
It’s around ?5,000 more than the industrial wage average but not
one of them will have to pay tax on this money or explain how they spend
it.
And it’s not as if the members of the Dáil are badly paid
to start with. Each deputy receives a salary of between ?95,363 and ?101,466
a year. Each also qualifies for a so-called allowance of ?34,485 to cover
the salary of a secretary.
Added to this is annual expenses including a telephone allowance of ?6,348
a year, a maintenance grant of ?8,888 for constituency offices and travel
benefits of up to ?8,782.
Not bad really.
Yet — for some reason — the people who are always telling
the rest of the population to exercise restraint in their pay negotiations
seem incapable of doing the same thing themselves. |
