When it comes to any building or construction project, an accurate budgetary quote is the foundation for informed decision-making and helps to mitigate the risk of budget over-runs. The advantage of opting for a quote over an estimate is that it gives a more accurate breakdown of the project and the cost.
Moliere once remarked: “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”
We have been told the bike shed was “very expensive”, that “whoever signed off on the price of the new bike shed must be held accountable”, that “lessons will be learnt” and reams of other priceless statements to this effect by various ministers regarding the apparent unrestrained, unsupervised extravagance on the part of the office of public wasters.
It’s the same old story. Questions get asked, the buck gets passed. Politics, it seems, is the art of stating the obvious while making it sound important.
As Mitt Romney once remarked: “Leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.”
Denis Doyle, Bray, Co Wicklow
President would do well to heed wise words from my chastising grandmother
When I was young and being unnecessarily loud, my grandmother would chastise me, saying: “Why can’t you be more like the president, seen but not heard?”
If she was still active today, no doubt she would give similar feedback to our current President.
Jason Fitzharris, Swords, Co Dublin
A church full of atheists is a bit like a football match with no fans in the stands
I’ve just returned from mass and read John O’Brien’s wise letter (‘It’s easy to see why even atheists can find comfort in the pews of a church’, Letters, September 26).
It reminded me of attending a football match without cheering for a team – observing, but not actively participating.
As an adolescent, I often struggled through services, but it wasn’t until I chose to attend mass for my own sake, rather than merely praying for others, that I truly began to appreciate the ceremony.
Enda Cullen, Orchard Gate, Armagh
Cowboy builders treating Irish taxpayers like they have a fortune to burn
The soaring cost of the new children’s hospital brings to mind a vision of a builder, pencil in hand, writing on the back of a cigarette packet and saying to his customer: “Tell you now, you’re looking at big money here.”
Meanwhile, taxpayers’ money goes up in smoke.
Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9
Fiascos around National Children’s Hospital go right back to the 1950s
The clamour surrounding building contractor BAM could well have been avoided by the Government if it had taken all of five seconds to open Dineen’s Irish-English Dictionary: “Bamburnaigh” is defined as the act of obstructing or delaying.
But there is nothing new about a controversy surrounding a new children’s hospital.
In 1956, when the children’s hospital was first opened, it was unfailingly referred to as The Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.
So, from day one, it has been bandaged with a geographical inaccuracy.
The hospital is not located in Crumlin, but in Drimnagh. And who knows, it may well be there for a longer time than we dared imagine.
David McDermott, Drimnagh, Dublin 12
World powers back Israel because it’s not a terrorist, it’s a democratic state
In answer to Raymond Deane (‘Why we need to be more open about the nations backing Israeli aggression’, Letters, September 25), I’m guessing the various world powers that back Israel do so not only for their own purposes, but because Israel is a democratic state and not a terrorist one, unlike the terrorists in Hamas and Hezbollah.
Ena Keye, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
America has the power to end the bloodshed, yet it refuses to act decisively
Why doesn’t US president Joe Biden do what Dwight Eisenhower did during the Suez Crisis – act decisively and stop the carnage in the Middle East?
Americans are the only ones with the power to do so, and it’s past time they used it.
Patrick McHugh, Drogheda, Co Louth
All the talk is not enough – UN must take action to stop war in Middle East
The global political class gather at the UN to discuss many issues. There should be only one item on the agenda – how to stop the war in the Middle East.
People need the political class to come together and sanction those who constantly break international human rights. Talk is not enough.
Paul Doran, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
Why are mental health services worst in EU when we are swimming in cash?
Many of us are familiar with the difficulty in accessing mental health services. Ours have been described as the worst in Europe.
Today, over 60 organisations working in the mental health sector are calling for €120m in additional funds to help address this and other problems. They have written an open letter to the Taoiseach. It is signed by the chief executives of Pieta, Jigsaw, Barnardos, Bodywise and others.
I find it utterly appalling to learn of the many children who are currently in acute distress and are unable to access any support from our mental health services, or parents left on waiting lists for months on end as they see their child’s mental state deteriorate.
We are continually being told the country is awash with money.
Mental health heavily influences our quality of life.
This is a call to Taoiseach Simon Harris and the Government to immediately address this urgent situation.
John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
