Author: Anthony

Seeking permisson to sell Mass cards

In February this year the Irish government enacted a law which makes it a criminal offence to sell a Mass card without the permission of a Catholic bishop (Charities Act 2009, Section 99).

Contained within the Act is a presumption of guilt until proved innocent. This runs contrary to Article 48 (1) of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights which states:

Everyone who has been charged shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.

In light of this new law I decided to engage in the selling of Mass cards and, being a law abiding citizen, wrote to my local bishop to ask for permission.

My local bishop is, temporarily, Archbishop Clifford. Bishop Magee is, er, busy with other matters.

Dear Archbishop Clifford,

As required under Section 99 of the Charities Act, 2009 I request permission to engage in the selling of Mass cards.
Yours sincerely.

Anthony Sheridan

I received the following reply from the pastoral co-ordinator in Cobh.

Dear Mr. Sheridan,

Archbishop Clifford has asked me to reply to your letter of 29th April 2009.

The Charities Act 2009 was signed into law by the President on February 28th 2009. However, the Act does not become operative until a commencement order has been issued.

Archbishop Clifford is advised that to date the relevant order has not been issued.

Yours sincerely

The relevant government department confirmed this was indeed the case. When the commencement order was issued I again wrote to the Archbishop for permission engage in the selling of Mass cards and he responded:

Dear Mr. Sheridan.

Archbishop Clifford has asked me to contact you concerning your recent letter to him in which you request permission to engage in the selling of Mass cards.

Before considering your request the Archbishop would like to know to what retail outlets this request refers.

Yours sincerely

My reply:

Dear Archbishop Clifford,

In response to your letter of 2nd October in which you request the names of retail outlets from which I intend selling Mass cards.

My understanding of section 99 (Charities Act, 2009) is that a citizen must first obtain permission from a bishop of the Church or a provincial of an order of priests before engaging in the selling of Mass cards.

I am unaware of any other regulations, laws or conditions (civil or religious) that must be adhered to in order engage in the selling of Mass cards. If such regulations, laws or conditions do exist I would be grateful if you could provide me with details so that I may be in proper compliance with the law.

Yours sincerely

Anthony Sheridan

Dear Mr. Sheridan,

Archbishop Clifford has instructed me to reply to your letter of October 20th concerning your request for permission to engage in the selling of Mass cards.

As you may be aware, the particular section of the Charities Act which requires this permission is at present being challenged in the High Court. Archbishop Clifford has decided to defer a final decision on your request pending the outcome of the relevant case.

Yours sincerely

This particular section of the Charities Act is indeed being challenged in the High Court but hopefully the matter will be resolved soon and I can once again apply to the Archbishop for permission to sell Mass cards.

Lenihan's (potato blight) guidelines

Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, is amending Nama legislation to give himself power to issue guidelines to banks relating to the flow of credit to viable businesses.

The key word here is ‘guidelines’, there will be no legislation enacted that will force the banks to play their part in national recovery.

Lenihan’s guidelines mean absolutely nothing; he may as well be issuing guidelines to prevent potato blight on the moon.

Little slips that reveal the truth

Sometimes it’s the little slips that reveal the truth.

During a discussing on Prime Time (4th report) about what should be done to help hard pressed homeowners pay their mortgages Fianna Fail TD, Michael McGrath said:

If people feel that there’s an easy way out then why would anyone continue to make repayments?

In other words, those struggling with massive mortgages must be closely watched in case they try to cheat the state out of money.

Meanwhile the ‘easy way out’ provided by Fianna Fail for bankers and property developers is near completion – and those struggling with massive mortgages will be paying the bill.

The criminal Haughey speaks from the grave

I see the corrupt Haughey had an article in last week’s Sunday Independent on the origins of Social Partnership and the part it played in Ireland’s (so called) financial recovery in the 1980s.

Written shortly before he died Haughey, predictably, heaps praise upon himself for saving the country. He ends the article with;

I thought it important now to recall the dire situation in which the economy was 20 years ago in 1986 and from which it has reached by the determined and patriotic combination I put together of government, trade unions, employers and farmers which, I am glad to say, has continued ever since. I hope it will long continue.

No doubt if the criminal was alive today he would be claiming that the disaster facing the Irish people was all the fault of Lehman Brothers, (just like his incompetent successor Bertie Ahern) that it had nothing to do with his incompetence, greed and corruption.

Still fooling the outsiders

The latest report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Ireland is damning.

The economy will shrink by 2.4% next year and the country will suffer from permanently lower living standards. The property bubble, an unbalanced tax system and inadequate banking regulation are the principal causes of the collapse according to the OECD.

Defending its rosy assessment of the Irish economy just 18 months ago the OECD said that on that occasion it had based its findings on statistics provided by the Irish government (Irish Examiner).

And therein lies the central problem facing all outside organisations and governments when dealing with Irish politicians and officials – they will always be lied to.

Lying, dissembling, hypocrisy, misrepresentation and denial are part and parcel of the Irish official mindset; it’s a mindset that has become an integral and fully accepted part of Irish culture.

When outside organisations are dealing with Irish officialdom they invariably assume they are dealing with a typical Western democracy where honesty and accountability are seen as crucially important aspects in running a modern state.

On yesterday’s Lunchtime Eamon Keane picked up on a sentence from the OECD report concerning the setting up of Nama which demonstrates the naivety of outsiders when it comes to dealing with the Irish.

For Nama to fulfill these roles it is essential it has the necessary resources and expertise. That appropriate incentives exist for those working with Nama to achieve its objectives and that its independence from political and industry pressures is ensured.

Even a cursory examination of the Nama project cannot but help conclude that it is being set up under a cloak of secrecy and deception specifically designed to serve political and industry interests.

How much more can this nation stand?

Letter in today’s Irish Times

Madam,

As if having to suffer the ever-deepening economic crisis, a Government that seems incapable of showing leadership, Nama, the dreadful weather, vision-seeing individuals and their gullible followers, swine flu, contaminated drinking water, a third-world healthcare system, deserted local Garda stations, no broadband, poor roads and an excuse of a public transport system (at least in my part of the country), were not bad enough, we now have to suffer the fast-spreading virus and witless awfulness of Jedward and the return of the Nolan Sisters to concert stages countrywide.

How much more can this nation stand?

Yours, etc,

PJ Curtis,

The Burren, Co Clare.

Rock makes clean getaway

A news report on disturbances during the recent Halloween celebrations went:

An ambulance was attacked and its window broken by a rock on its way through Finglas

I reckon that rock is in Iceland by now, if it hasn’t run out of fuel. 🙂

Secretive expenses perk exposed

An investigation by Shaun Connolly of the Irish Examiner has uncovered an obscure but lucrative expenses perk exclusively reserved for ministers, junior ministers and the Attorney General (Morning Ireland, 6th report).

The perk allows them to claim back tax relief for maintaining a second home in the capital that can either be owned or rented. They can also claim back money, without producing receipts, for maintaining a hotel room or guest house room in the capital.

He was unable to ascertain how a politician goes about maintaining a hotel or guest house room.

On average the non Dublin ministers that this applies to are claiming between five and six thousand per year.

Connolly, who had great difficulty obtaining details of the perk, said it was possible that a minister could have no second home in Dublin but still claim the money – no questions asked.

He added that the estimated 35,000 people facing the prospect of having their homes repossessed next year would not be happy to learn that ministers were using taxpayer’s money to feather a second nest.

Knocking Knock

The duel between the Catholic Church in the form of Archbishop Neary and clairvoyant Joe Costello continues. The Archbishop has claimed that Coleman’s predictions risk misleading god’s people and undermining the faith but the clairvoyant continues to attract large crowds.

A letter in last Wednesday’s Irish Times provides the funniest but most accurate response to the controversy.

Madam,

I’m a little confused that the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, is discouraging people from gathering at Knock to witness apparitions which he believes “risk misleading God’s people and undermining faith”.

This is the the same “faith” that believes that a cosmic Jew who was his own father by a virgin can enable you to live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh, drink his blood and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from something invisible called your soul that is present because a woman made from a rib was convinced by a talking snake to eat an apple from a magical tree.

Yours etc,

Liam Meehan,
La Vista Avenue,
Killester, Dublin 5.

Nothing new in Ireland

Serious allegations of widespread fraud have emerged from within CIE. Three employees have been dismissed and there’s a vague reference about a report to the Gardai.

The FAS farce continues apace. We’re told there’s also a Garda investigation there but, please, don’t hold your breadth.

Dentists are under scrutiny over allegations that they made fraudulent claims under the publicly funded Dental Treatment Services Scheme. Here’s a mad prediction – no dentist will be found guilty, nothing will happen.

Fianna Fail backbenchers are up in arms over drink-drive levels even though the retention of the present level will result in at least ten additional deaths every year. When it comes to protecting their power base Irish politicians are completely ruthless.

Practically every financial institution in the country is regularly defrauding elderly citizens of their life savings. All the political parties, the Gardai and every so called regulatory agency in the country are fully aware of the situation but refuse to act.

Approximately 2,000 retired teachers, in receipt of generous state pensioners, are still working as substitute teachers. Around 1,500 of them are working in primary schools at a rate of €206 a day, while the remainder is earning €49.60 per hour in secondary schools.

Apparently, it’s all part of a wink, wink, nod, nod network. Meanwhile, thousands of young, newly qualified teachers are desperately searching for a start in their profession.

250,000 shoppers are now crossing the border into Northern Ireland to do their shopping costing traders in the republic up to €800 million in lost revenue.

Even when factors like the VAT rate are taken into account there still remains the unique Irish rip off (theft) factor.

It seems that no matter how bad things get Irish businesses are incapable of weaning themselves off this long established tradition.

Here’s just one small example. I went into a Dublin café recently for a cup of coffee and a cake. The (very small) cakes were €2.80 to eat on the premises and €2.50 to take away – yes, take away cakes from a café.

Not surprisingly, the café was empty with the (soon to be redundant?) staff twiddling their thumbs.