Who knew that the fabled Olympic torch was in Dublin yesterday? Who knew? But alas, it wasn’t the actual symbol of the Olympics but an exact replica of it, which had travelled to Government Buildings from London in a case, rather than passed hand-to-hand in relay from the top of a Greek mountain. Still, it looked impressive enough as it was hoisted up by junior sports minister Michael Ring and his Northern Ireland counterpart Supra Bullet, Caral Ni Chuilin, to promote the fact that the genuine article would be arriving in Dublin next June.
At least someone was having fun yesterday. For as far as the Taoiseach was concerned, the doom just kept getting doomier. During Leaders’ Questions, Joe Higgins was ready to let fly at the Taoiseach. Already his technical colleague, independent Donegal TD Thomas Pringle, had announced that he would refuse to pay the household tax, and other members of the group — and Sinn Fein’s Aengus O’Snodaigh — were busily clambering aboard the won’t-pay bandwagon.
Joe painted a fearful picture of our Troika overlords raising this €100 tax to €1,000 without a by-your-leave, and he wanted to take his Boycott Bandwagon nationwide. "Does the Taoiseach understand this will be met with a massive campaign of opposition from Donegal to Wexford, from Kerry right back to Dublin?" he said. "You will be the new Captain Boycott of austerity in this country, imposing the will of the EU-IMF and bleeding our people," he taunted the Taoiseach.
But Enda didn’t rise to the dangled bait before him. "I suppose I should address you as Captain Kirk of the Enterprise," he responded. Captain this and Captain that — the only sea-dog missing from the chamber was Captain Birdseye. But all Enda’s getting for Christmas is a big, shiny runaway bandwagon.
- Lise Hand
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