The Bike2Work scheme

This week's INM regional column.

Michael Commane

Will the following two scenarios make you reconsider your way of thinking about things?

Take a husband and wife team with two young school-going children. They are both unemployed so they have to watch every cent they have.

They have no marketable qualifications. They live from day-to day, never with any spare cash for a rainy day. 

Suddenly something happens and they urgently need to find €1,000 somewhere. They have no option but to go to a loan shark. They manage to borrow the money but it’s at a price. They will have to repay the money at exorbitant interest rates.

Now take another couple, again with two young school-going children. But in the case of this couple both parents have jobs and they are not short a few bob. They are both paying the top rate of tax, which is 41 per cent. They decide they are going to start cycling to work so they avail of the Bike2Work Scheme.

They both work for the same company. They buy two new bicycles priced at €500 per bike. Their employer makes out two checks to the bicycle shop for €500 each and now they both have new bicycles. 

But because they are paying 41 per cent tax they will pay less than €590 for the bikes as PRSI and USC is also taken into account. The employer then deducts a sum every month from their salaries until they have paid for the bikes. 

It’s not just a free loan for €1,000, it’s a subsidised loan. 

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a great scheme. It was introduced by the Green Party when they were in coalition with Fianna Fáil. It has brought thousands of extra bicycles out on to the roads. People are exercising. It’s great. I have availed of the scheme. It was and is a brilliant idea.

It’s just another example of the divide there is between those who have money and those who don’t.

Yes, people constantly berate the poor and less privileged, call them names, say they are lazy and are simply shy of work. Only in the last fortnight I heard a woman, indeed a knowledgeable woman, say that poor people can ‘earn’ more on the dole than at work.

There are no standard answers. There are no simple solutions to getting people out of poverty but that does not mean that we dare stop trying.

In the last few weeks there has been a lot of talk about equality. It’s something towards which we strive. But sometimes I’m inclined to think that when it comes to the social divide, both locally and indeed globally, equality doesn’t seem to appear on our radar.

I put up my hands straight away and say I have no answers. But still, I think it’s at our peril we lose our sensitivity for those who are weak and marginalised.

Imagine the outcry there would be if the Government announced they were going to give subsidised loans to the unemployed to buy bicycles.

Imagine if we all decided it makes no sense that one in seven of the world’s population have not enough food to eat.

There was a line in last Wednesday’s Gospel reading at Mass that went: “… whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant ...”

Or the lines on the plinth of the Jim Larkin statue in Dublin’s O’Connell Street:

“The great appear great because we are on our knees, let us rise.”

A fairer and more just society, where everyone is respected and cherished. We can never take our eye off the ball.

Air-brushing images

Spiegel Online today shows how Russian authorities falsified satellite images so as to blame Ukraine for the shooting down of MH17 as it flew over the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine last year.

Christoph Mueller CEO of Malaysia Airlines and former top man at Aer Lingus plans to cut 6,000 jobs at the airline. Announcing a restructuring programme today, he said, the airline is "technically bankrupt". 

May hailstones

Tess taking a break while walking around the reservoir at Bohernabreena.

Far less strenuous than the usual weekend walk but this time, on the last day of May, there was rain, wind, cold and hailstones.

€1.2bn for Irish farmers

There has been an amount of publicity on making public the sums of money Irish farmers received in 2014 under the EU Common Agricultrual Policy (Cap).

Irish farmers received €1.2 billion last year.

France got the largest Cap amount in 2014, receiving more than €9 billion. Ireland was the 11th largest beneficiary.

The Cap was introduced after World War ll to guarantee food security. But its aims have broadened over the years.

That apostrophe

What makes people do it?

Pizza shop in Rathgar.

Wisdom from elderly men

Comments from two wise elderly men.

1. "I would really like to do a study on the link between the libido and our journey in spiritual growth."

2. " When I was a young man the bishops in the Irish Catholic Church had far too much power and       we paid too much attention to them. Today it seems the media is playing the role of those bishops."

Tess catches the sun

Not much sun about today but in those few moments when the sun did shine, Tess, as opportunistic as ever, managed to catch it.

But as soon as she was spotted she returned to her modest position.

Before she's spotted.

After she saw the camera

RTE's Bill O'Herlihy's Dominican connections

Much acclaimed RTE journalist Bill O'Herlihy will be buried today after Requiem Mass in Foxrock.

Bill had Dominican connections. His brother Jack joined the order and was ordained a priest in the early 1960s. After ordination he studied in the United States. Shortly after returning to Ireland he left the Dominicans and resigned from priesthood. He went on to work at the then Letterkenny RTC.

Bill's first cousin, Paul Patrick O'Leary, also joined the Dominicans. He was ordained a priest in 1968.

Paul was the kindest of men and a great teacher. He always looked out for those who were in difficulty or marginalised.

He died in 2005, aged 67.

His doctoral studies included some work on a Russian theologian. On one occasion he received a phone call from the Soviet Embassay on Orwell Road. The Soviet Ambassador had requested his presence at a luncheon to recognise his work on the Russian theologian.

A car from the embassy arrived at the priory in Tallaght to collect Paul. En route to the embassy the 'chauffeur' turned to Paul and explained to him it was April1.

Fellow Dominicans in Tallaght organised the prank.

Paul took it in his stride. 

dublinbikes

Why does the gear control on the bicycles opearted by dublinbikes work in reverse to the gear control on all conventional bicycles?

It seems the operator is grossing over €1.45 million annually.

Sale of Aer Lingus

What happens if the United Kingdom leaves the EU? IAG will no longer be within the EU. Where does that place Aer Lingus?

It would seem that selling the company for €1.3 billion is a bargain deal for IAG. Aer Lingus has 50 aircraft, an extensive property portfolio, cash reserves of €1bn. Then the famous Heathrow slots. Alone, the Aer Lingus brand is worth a small fortune.

There's seems something terribly wrong about this deal.

Willie Walsh does not see result defeat for humanity

The piece below is from the online version of today's Irish Independent.

The bishop emeritus of Killaloe said he could not support comments by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who yesterday said the same-sex marriage referendum was not only "a defeat for Christian principles, but also a defeat for humanity."

“I was quite uncomfortable with that statement. I mean there has been lots of disasters in the world but I certainly would not support the belief that the referendum was among them.”

“To suggest that over a million people who went to the polls and voted yes were so false in their judgment that it was a disaster for humanity is not something I can accept,” he said.

Speaking on RTE Radio, the retired bishop said he “seriously doubted” that the sentiments expressed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin was shared by Pope Francis.

“It is an inappropriate statement… [and] not one I think that represents the mind of Pope Francis despite it coming from a very senior Church figure.”

“It is a very heavy judgement on the whole issue.”

Asked if he had supported the referendum, Bishop Walsh declined to answer but did say that "one could hardly look at the celebrations and say it didn’t increase the sum of human happiness [in Ireland]."

Kindness at the Mater

Below is this week's INM Irish regional newspaper column

Michael Commane
On Thursday I went to visit a school friend, who is in hospital. He’s a patient in the Mater Public Hospital in Dublin.

It’s some time since I had been in the hospital so I took a bus to Dorset Street and walked up Eccles Street, passing the Mater Private Hospital and walked up the short entrance to the public hospital.

To my surprise there was no reception desk, at least I didn’t see one.

I was getting a little irritated. It’s a busy hospital with plenty of people coming and going. I saw a woman carrying a large bundle of files. I stopped her and asked her where the reception was. 

At times, even unbeknownst to myself I may sound a little harsh or abrasive. Once I asked the women, she then asked me where I wanted to go in the hospital. I told her I was visiting a patient. She politely brought me to a small office, turned on a computer, keyed in her password, asked me the name of the patient and gave me the information for which I was looking. And she did all that in the friendliest and politest manner. She then explained to me that the main reception area had moved to the new building on North Circular Road.

I was greatly taken with her kindness. She was a busy woman, carrying files. She could so easily have been as snooty as I was but instead she was friendly and kind.

That was not my only experience of kindness on my visit. Later I was looking for a toilet. Again I asked a member of staff and she duly directed me to the said place. I noticed there was no sign on the door designating it as a toilet. So when I was finished I went back to the lady and explained that it would be difficult to know that it was a toilet. Later passing the door I spotted a toilet sign had been placed on the door. On the hospital ward a nurse was extremely kind to me.

Impressive  experiences.

I’ve been thinking about the experiences. What it means when people are pleasant and friendly to us. It changes our whole attitude. At least it does mine. Indeed, I might well be a very subjective person but I have a sneaky suspicion we all are. Surely we are all influenced by how people treat us. If people are nice to us we will respond accordingly.

I have been telling people about my experience in the Mater and certainly I have a different attitude towards it now than I had before my visit on Thursday. And my God, does the opposite hold true too. When people are nasty and abusive to us it’s most likely we respond accordingly.i

The world needs a little bit more kindness.

It is estimated that worldwide there are about 600,000 violent deaths annually and 340,000 of these are thought to be at the end of a gun. It is estimated there are over one billion guns in the world and 12 billion bullets are produced every year.

Give me kindness over guns any day.

It turns out that the main reception for the Mater Public Hospital is now in the Whitty Building on North Circular Road. The new building is called after Mercy Sister, Mother Mary Vincent Whitty (1819 – 1892) and was opened in June 2012. Mother Mary Vincent worked with Catherine McAuley in Baggot Street and was later involved in the planning of the Mater Hospital. The new building is an expansive clean-cut and most attractive structure.

'When push comes to shove' wise to abandon the cliché

This week's Sunday Independent carries an interesting piece on buzzwords and clichés in the English language.

The writer of the article, Dr Declan Collinge, lists 25 words or phrases.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin described their divorce as uncoupling.

Collinge explains how whistleblower became fashionable.

"The American activist, Ralph Nader, reputedly coined the epithet whistleblower in the 1970s as a substitute for informer/snitch. Since this term carried a pejorative association before that time, it is surley as politically as correct to use the term informant."

But does Collinge not get it wrong? At least in this part of the world informant also has a pejorative sense to it?

Pentecost and silence

Yesterday Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said that the Irish Cathoic Church needs to do a reality check.

The Irish Catholic Church has been in need of a reality check for a long time.

Today the feast of Pentecost, what is the church saying about the influence Jesus had on his disciples when he spoke to them? They had cowered away in fear behind closed doors. And then the change.

Has there been a a word, a letter from a provinical, from a bishop, about the great feast of Pentecost, a letter, written in a language that touches the hearts and minds of people?

Ireland first on German news

The first item on the main ARD German news this evening was today's marriage referendum result in Ireland. Health Minister Leo Varadkar  featured on the clip. And then there was a short comment on the Catholic Church in Ireland.

The third item on that news was the beatification of Oscar Romero.

An interesting main evening news from ARD's Berlin studios.

On the Six O'Clock RTE news this evening Dr Diarmuid Martin, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin said: " The Church needs to do a reality check." 

Letting go of our fears and opening doors wide

The piece below is the 'Thinking Anew' column in today's Irish Times

Michael Commane
A neighbour of mine once said that what we worry about or what causes us anxiety seldom if ever happens. Wise words. We can spend so much of our time worrying about issues. More than often they don't happen and then if they do we manage to cope. The world does not come to an end. At least it hasn't so far.

Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday one of the most important feasts in the Christian calendar. We are celebrating our belief in the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world. We are reminding ourselves of the presence of God in our midst.

Since Easter Sunday there has been an emphasis on the communitarian aspect of God. Three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit living in perfect communion with each other.

In tomorrow's Gospel (John 20: 19 - 23) we see how the disciples of Jesus locked themselves behind closed doors.

“In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews.” (20: 19)

Jesus appears to them and greets them: “Peace be with you.” Their immediate response is one of joy. Suddenly the idea of hiding behind closed doors makes no sense. Instead there is an atmosphere of joy and happiness. In this context Jesus tells them that they are to receive the Holy Spirit. Is gaire cabhair Dé ná an doras.

It's a central part of Christian teaching that the Holy Spirit represents the continuation of the life of Jesus in the world in which we live. We believe that through the Holy Spirit the Word of God is alive and vibrant in the world. It is a reassuring, indeed a powerful statement, giving us a confidence that we have the support of God guiding us in the lives we live.

Isn't it interesting that those, who were closest to Jesus, those who lived their lives with him and worked with him, were afraid when he left them? All they could do was go into a room and close the doors.

Jesus comes into their presence and introduces them to the Holy Spirit. He brings with him a sense of joy, a spirit of courage and excitement. In a world dominated by the Holy Spirit there can never be a sense of fear. It's contrary to everything God stands for to cower behind closed doors.

In all religions there are tensions and different opinions. There will be dogmatists, those who will suggest that they know exactly what God is thinking. Can that really be the way a God, whom we all accept as mystery, 'operates'? Of course there is a teaching authority, there is Scripture and tradition. But there is also the common sense of the wider Christian community. After all, we believe that the Holy Spirit is present in the world. It would seem strange in the extreme if the Holy Spirit limited her/his presence to a tiny minority of human kind. 

So often God's ways are not our ways. And that is so evidently clear in tomorrow's Gospel. The disciples, people like you and me, get it wrong and to counteract their fear they close the doors. 

They are afraid of the Jews. Does Jesus ever talk about closing doors? No, he disseminates an atmosphere of joy and openness.

The three persons  of God are a powerful sign of the importance of the community aspect of Christianity. And it is in that context, people working together, people in honesty and trust, respecting one another,  that the Holy Spirit thrives.

The feast of Pentecost is about the presence of God being alive and vibrant in the community.

Unclear ballot papers

When it comes to designing a voting paper the Irish State should employ new designers. Today's balott papers were unclear and confusing.

Surely the articles of the Constitution that citizens were being ask to amend or not amend should have been written in full and in bold.

Is that the best the Irish State can do?

Coming out

Whatever the result in today's marriage referendum it would seem that there is a more open and tolerant attitude towards people of homosexual orientation. The nasty 'jokes' the fear of being gay, hopefully will be something of the past.

It has been heart-warming and something good to see people open and honest about their sexual orientation.

Ursula Halligan's article in last Friday's Irish Times was an impressive piece of writing.

And yet hardly a whsiper from ministers of religion.

On a lighter note - at this stage many people must surely be suffering from 'referendumitis'.

Gun culture

Eight years ago it was estimated that there were at least 875 million guns in the world. Today, if you include antique and homemade guns, that number is probably greater, fed by gun and ammunition industries across more than 100 countries.

Police forces worldwide are said to have about 260 million firearms. Armies are thought to hold about 200 million. Civilians, though claim the rest and are by far the biggest owners of guns. About 12 billion bullets are produced every year, almost enough to kill every person on the planet - twice.

Estimates suggest there are about 600,000 violent deaths annually - 340,000 of these are thought to be at the end of a gun. If you take into account that, at a bare minimum, for each person shot and killed, three will survive, about 1,360,000 people are shot by someone else every year.

The WHO estimates that more than 800,000 kill themsleves each year, and one commonly used way is with a firearm.
Guardian

A page exclusive to men

On yesterday's page three of the Irish Times three men wrote on the  upcoming referendum. Fintan O'Toole and Patsy McGarry wrote in favour of a Yes vote and Diarmuid Martin argued for a No vote.

Below is an extract from McGarry's article.

"Still, it is possible to feel sympathy for the Catholic bishops and the bind they are in. Some of them. Generally, in a pastoral context, they are sensitive to gay people and groups, as are most priests. This also makes sense as few institutions have such a disproportionate number of gay men in their ranks. 

"Such sympathy has to be tempered, however, by a realisation of what the bishops have not told their congregations over recent weeks. They have not told them that they can, in conscience, vote Yes on Friday."

An argument to vote No and one to vote Yes on Friday

Below is an argument to vote No in Friday's marriage referendum. It is followed by a response to the piece. The reply is in favour of a Yes vote on Friday.

In support of a NO vote

1. From my experience of listening to and participating in the current debate during the past few weeks, I must acknowledge that people convinced that this referendum is about 'equality', as is your correspondent, will not be convinced by whatever is argued/suggested by people with a different view; likewise, those who are convinced that this referendum is about changing the 'definition/meaning' of marriage, will not be convinced by whatever is said by those with a different view.

2. I believe that marriage equality already exists here in Ireland - marriage between rich and poor, marriage between natives and foreigners, marriage between people of different races, marriage between people of different and/or no religious persuasion. What all of these 'equal' instances have in common, however, is that they understand marriage to be between a man and a woman. This assumes the basic biological difference between man and woman; in doing so, it acknowledges the NECESSARY 'complementarity' between the sexes. It seems to me that arguing for the irrelevance of gender in any discussion about marriage abstracts the discussion entirely from human biology. If there was no gender difference in our biological world, the world would quickly cease to exist.

3 I'm surprised that there is no difference between all the political parties on the perceived 'equality' issue. I'm not aware of any other issue which has not been a cause of dissent and different views among political parties. Surely, such difference of attitude/approach to any topical issue is a fundamental hallmark of a democratic society. Could it be that all the Irish political parties are clones? How can such a homogeneous view predominate in a democratic society that legitimately prides itself on being heterogeneous? 

4. Ironically, the Irish Government and most organisations INSIST on 'gender balance' in political elections and organisational structures. If gender balance is so important and necessary in such structures, then why is it not 'equally' important and necessary in marriage and the family - the basic structural unit in human society. Even in the non-human animal and plant kingdom (with the exception of asexual reproduction), the REAL difference between male and female - and the complementary nature of both sexes in a sine qua non in family structure and the survival of each species.

5. My final point, which could have been my first and only point, is that 'equality' does NOT men 'sameness'. Men and women are NOT the same. 'Uniformity', with which most people would disagree because it destroys creativity and spontaneity, tries to enforce 'sameness', whereas 'unity', which is achieved even with great 'diversity' respects the valid and legitimate differences that are present. That's why all of your correspondent's concerns about next-of-kin, a (non married) partner's contribution to/involvement in important decision-making, inheritance rights, tax situations, etc. are all adequately dealt with - and rightly so - in properly legislated civil partnerships

In support of a YES vote

He’s probably right in that I’m not going to be convinced otherwise. However, I do listen to opposing arguments.

On a couple of points though- “If there was no gender difference in our biological world, the world would quickly cease to exist.” Fine, but the argument is not about who can produce children and I have multiple choices around having children with my partner and this will exist regardless of the outcome of the referendum. All that necessary complementarity centres around producing children. But this is rigid thinking and doesn’t allow for the spectrum of sexualities and identities. Also gender is not a binary. It’s a social construct. 

Equality is not divisible- unless we take an Orwellian perspective. All are equal but some are more equal than others!! Equality should mean equal access regardless of whether you like/agree with those others.

Gender balance? when the church starts to entertain gender balance we can re-vist this argument.

Also, this is important- civil partnership does NOT cover inheritance rights, tax situations etc- (vital aspects of MY LIFE!) I know. I’ve looked into this. I’ve been involved in the legal research and there are 160 differences. I’d have no objection if civil partnership was for everyone but it is for gay people only. It is equivalent to having to sit at the back of the bus.

It may be difficult for others to understand but I love my partner in a real and committed way. We both treat each other with love and respect. People who use diversity in inverted commas have never been subjected to the tyranny of the majority.

RTE's Ray D'Arcy is one of the many who get it wrong

In An Irishman's Diary in Saturday's Irish Times Frank McNally writes a funny piece about the use of language, better said, its misuse. Well worth a read.

Ray D'Arcy on his show yesterday said: "... a gun could have went off..."

On a religious/Father Ted style blog: "Fr's X and Y"

Ouch.

Russian journalist writes on the Tsarnaev family

Award-winning Russian journalist Masha Geesen was interviewed by Andrew Marr on BBC Radio 4's 'Begin the Week' this morning.

Her book The Road to a Modern Tragedy will be published later this year.

It is the story of the Tsarnaev brothers, the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013.

She tells the story of the family moving from country to country. The Russian journalist gives an account of how and why the family fled Chechnya, looking for some sort of normality. After World War ll  the Chechnyians were brutalised and slaughtered by Stalin. She points out that at one stage the food rations of Chechnyians was less than that received by the inmates at Auschwitz.

Geesen points out how the Tsarnaevs came to the US looking for hope. A hope they never found, which ended in more slaughter.

Irish prisoner statistics

There are approximately 3,700 prisoners in the Irish State.

Each prisoner costs €60,000 annually.

The majority of prisoners were unemployed when they commit their crime and most of them left school before 16.

Feast of the Ascension

The Irish Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Ascension today. The Irish bishops moved it from Thursday to this Sunday.

The Ascension is one of the great feasts of Christianity. It's our belief that Christ returns to the Father. Another pointer of the importance of community.

Surely it should be the theme for words spoken at Mass today.

Scarr on a spring day

Tess on the top of Scarr (641 metres) today.

Wicklow was looking exquisite. Cold and windy too but spring so evident everywhere. Skylarks and ravens in flight and seemingly enjoying themselves.

Wet underfoot.

Great views from the top of Scarr - Turlough Hill, Kippure, Mullaghcleevaun, Vartry Reservoir.

Tess on Kanturk Mountain on the descent.

Tess on top of Scarr Mountain.

Miriam Lord's King quote

Miriam Lord in her column in today's Irish Times quotes Martin Luther King. It was a quote Ursula Halligan used in the article she wrote in yesterday's Irish Times.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Dublin Bus card readers

Card readers on all Dublin Bus vehicles can now read the newly issued Public Services Card, which includes the Free Travel pass.

Profile of papal nuncio

The piece below is an extract from an article written by Brendan Hoban.

"There’s a lively sub-culture in Irish Catholicism of individuals and groups who encourage and reassure the leadership of our Church not to change anything. They feed the denial and the cognitive dissonance of distressed Catholics – from the mitre to the pew – and they criticise those who welcome change as dissident and disloyal. 

They write in newspapers they describe as ‘Catholic’ though they have little sense of the breadth of that term. They travel the country giving lectures and pep-up talks to the fearful and fragile who want to be convinced that keeping out the tide is a better strategy than learning how to swim. And some of them are clerics and theologians, wearing their naked ambition for promotion on their sleeves.

An example of this was a recent profile of the papal nuncio, Archbishop Charles Browne, on the American Catholic Crux website, by Michael Kelly. A report from ‘Dublin, Ireland’ and intended for mainly American consumption, presents a glowing report on the extraordinarily positive, almost miraculous effect on the Irish Church of the appointment of Archbishop Brown.

According to Kelly, Archbishop Brown is ‘saving the Irish Church’; he has had a huge influence on the Irish government re-establishing the Irish Embassy in Rome; his engaging personality has impressed politicians; his ‘normal-guy ethos and engaging style’ means he can share a joke even with people like Leo Varadkar; he’s reshaping the hierarchy with Pope Francis-style bishops; his accessibility is such that he probably knows the name of every parish priest in Ireland; and, for good measure, he jogs in the Phoenix Park. All that was missing from the Kelly profile was the mood music.

This sycophantic nonsense must embarrass Archbishop Brown. Because he knows that much if not most of the Kelly profile, though unintentionally entertaining, is very wide of the mark. He knows, for example, from the fall-out to his ill-judged 2013 sermon at a Mass in Mount Merrion at which he lectured Irish politicians on their responsibilities, that he’s far from being a poster-boy in Leinster House. 

He knows that, while he visits some priests in Ireland who conspicuously share his approach, he refuses to meet the Association of Catholic priests which represents almost a third of the priests on this island; and he has to know that his approach to the appointment of bishops hasn’t the confidence of most Irish priests and probably many bishops.

So, like the famous Reggie Perrin (‘I didn’t get where I am today without . . .’), shrewd man that he is, I have no doubt that he takes profiles like that of Michael Kelly with more than a grain of salt. I’m sure he knows better than most that such unambiguous flattery serves neither him nor his Church. He knows too, wise man that he is, what Pope Francis would think of such nonsense.

Fantasy is no help to the Irish Catholic Church."

Picasso and the 'absurd' price

Below is a quote from Jonathan Jones, writing in the Guradian on the sale of Picasso's Les Femmes d'Alger (Version O). The painting was sold in 11 minutes for £114m.

Art collectors are fools who can be manipulated to spend fortunes with the same superficial curisosity about fashionable stuff that makes most of us buy a Bowie comeback album or go to see a film everyone's talking about. It's as trivial as that.

One hand on the wheel

Seen in Dublin this morning: a Dublin Bus driver with one hand on the steering wheel and a mobile phone in the other hand.