Letters: It’s incredible that Ialpa’s pay claim gets so little scrutiny given the implications

The absence of detailed scrutiny of the Ialpa claim for a whopping 24pc pay rise for its 1,200 members by the media, and by the Government, is startling. Ialpa’s claim that its members have not had a pay rise since 2019 is incorrect; they have been receiving annual increments.

And while Ialpa seeks to couch the dispute as them versus Aer Lingus management, why is the union not being challenged on the fact that both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court have rejected its claim, and recommended a pay increase broadly in line with the 12.25pc increase accepted by the staff and the trade unions representing all other workers across the airline?

Why is the Government so silent on the implications for wage inflation, industrial peace and national competitiveness if Ialpa – now turning the screw by holding the innocent travelling public to ransom – is allowed to get its way with such an exorbitant pay rise?

Stephen O’Byrnes, Dublin 4

Honour the memory of Ó Muircheartaigh and keep young away from booze

Many glowing tributes have been deservedly paid to the legendary Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh.

All of them provide expert, first-hand, humorous and colourful insights into the life and times of one of Ireland’s noble sons. None more so than a captivating article by John Moore (‘A teacher in the class and a role model for life, his glass was always half-full’, Irish Independent, June 26).

By all accounts, Ó Muircheartaigh was a gifted and enthusiastic teacher. Teaching’s loss was Ireland’s gain when he swapped his chalk for the microphone.

Ever since, we have all been spellbound by his powerful bilingual commentary, which transported us to a wonderland of sporting prowess, intertwined with tales of sportsmanship, folklore and intriguing asides.

As Mr Moore so eloquently pointed out, Ó Muircheartaigh was an eternal optimist with the ability to praise a good performance and to considerately overlook an off-day on the field.

I particularly admired Ó Muircheartaigh’s life-long membership of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. His gold pioneer pin was always proudly displayed on his left lapel. We can best honour his memory by continuing to safeguard our under-age members from exposure to alcohol and by providing club environments that are not alcohol-centred. Slán abhaile, m’laoch.

Billy Ryle, Tralee, Co Kerry

Once again we missed out on great games because of the GAAGO stranglehold

We were denied some great hurling and football matches on Saturday because of GAAGO.

The match between Dublin and Galway – which was an epic encounter, with the All-Ireland champions outplayed and outclassed – and Armagh v Roscommon should have been shown on our public service broadcaster TV channels.

The agreement between RTÉ and the GAA that prevents a large swathe of the population from seeing their teams playing was a mistake.

This, and the increase in ticket stand prices, says a lot about the association.

Remember its motto is “dedicated to ensuring that our games and values enrich the lives of our members, families, and the communities we serve”. Has that motto changed to “self-enrichment for some”, I wonder?

Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal

It feels like heart and soul of GAA is dead – children can’t even dream about it

In our village in 1966 Gerry Miller had a TV and all the neighbours, young and old, packed into his kitchen and peered through windows and doors to watch Galway win the All-Ireland.

Apparently in June 2024, Galway defeated the all-conquering Dubs in Croke Park, but while everyone now has numerous TVs, nobody saw the game.

No lifelong volunteers got to relive old glories or bask in seeing the players they helped develop prosper. And no children ran into the garden afterwards to smash a ball and dream.

No mind, as we did get to see Switzerland defeating Italy and horses running.

It seems that the heart and soul of the GAA was buried the day before in Kerry with the greatest Gael and GAA promoter of them all.

Tom Finn, Ballinasloe, Co Galway

Biden’s performance was a disaster, but getting rid of him will be no easy task

US president Joe Biden’s less-than-alert performance in the CNN presidential debate has led some to call for him to go and the Democrats to select someone else. That is very easy to say, the hard questions to answer are who and how?

On the who, clearly the Democrats have no confidence in Kamala Harris.

If the Democrats were to replace Biden, they would be selecting someone who has been untried and untested in a national election with an unpredictable outcome.

And that is even if it is possible to forcibly drop Biden. Because if Biden insists on staying on, it won’t be easy to remove him.

All the Democratic presidential primaries have been held, and Biden has won 3,894 of the 3,937 delegate votes.

Given the serious risk of internal strife, it may disappoint some to discover that the Democrats might stick with a known quantity, rather than an unknown one.

Jason Fitzharris, Swords, Co Dublin

Number of abortions has doubled, yet there’s no outrage or call for inquiry

It was depressing and sad to read Eilish O’Regan’s article ‘Significant rise in abortions in Ireland as over 10,000 terminations of pregnancy reported in 2023’ (Irish Independent, June 28).

“Significant” is an understatement – the grim figures have more that doubled since abortion legislation was introduced. And yet there is no evident outrage, no calls for enquiries, no task forces to reduce these numbers, no outpouring of sympathy for the little lives lost.

If anything, the only voices likely to be heard and listened to by the State are those calling for even greater liberalisation.

Brendan O’Regan, Co Wicklow

It might be a flight of fancy, but I’m hoping Aer Lingus passengers get good news

Hopefully this coming week will see that rarest of phenomena, where passengers on Aer Lingus flights will be able to address the pilot and say “Welcome aboard”.

Peter Declan O’Halloran, Co Cavan

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