Courtney McGrailDear Editor, I love reading Mary Kenny’s articles as she is not afraid to say her mind. Having read her ‘Achilles heel’ article about President Higgins and his “seeming reluctance to revisit any past pronouncements on the state of Venezuela and its late leader Hugo Chavez” and the “appalling poverty, hunger, cruelty and injustice” there (IC 01/12/2016), I feel that she could be overlooking a much more worrying silence on President Higgins part.
Any time I have contacted Mr. Higgins to say or do something about the massive injustice of poverty and hunger in Ireland, with the eviction of hundreds of Irish families with children as young as three years thrown out in sub-zero temperatures, his standard reply is always that he is not allowed comment on political matters.
In the face of this pathetic excuse and his seeming selfish fear of losing his cushy life in Aras, putting it before the plight of these good Irish families (who bailed out the banks who are now evicting them), I feel that his own legacy will be far from sparkling.
Mr Higgins sits by while, amid shortages in hospitals, education and public pay funds, there is only money to pay politicians huge salaries to themselves.
So Mr Higgins didn’t take his increase, you will say. I say “big deal – he will still get his massive pension on leaving office and lives in the lap of luxury while three- to six-year-olds eat their supper off the street”.
This is Michael D. Higgins’ legacy in my eyes and those of the evicted families. This is how I will remember his presidency.
Perhaps he should head down, of a sub-zero night, to the GPO where our national freedom fighters fought the English who were evicting our families, and see his legacy in action.
Yours etc.,
Roseanna Tyrrell,
Tullamore, Co. Offaly.