By Jimmy Rhatigan
SLOWLY but surely our people are seeing through our caretaker government’s right wing response to the hardship our people are being put through in what is akin to a war for survival.
As has been its wont for some time, Fine Gael continues with fire brigade action in the hope that one small fire tender it may provide will save the blazing family homes of an entire street.
For instance it will be noted that money man Paschal Donohoe went cap in hand to our so-called big banks, asking, begging, genuflecting and doffing his cap as he curtsied in the hope of getting a little consideration for the plebs of Ireland.
Paschal then trumpeted that the banks had come up trumps and agreed a three-month moratorium on mortgages.
Yippee, brilliant, good man yourself Paschal, the very cowboys who shot holes in our bellies following a financial collapse in which they were among the main architects, were now doing us a favour.
Or were they?
Their action was a mere sop, a face-saver perhaps, a sprat to catch a salmon.
We say the latter because there is still much to be explained as concerned families ask what happens when payback time comes.
No free lunch
The question is keeping in mind that there is no such thing as a free lunch with any of the greedy banks or their mates in vulture land, first cousins in evictions and delivery of pressure to families in distress.
So what will happen?
Will those who accept the wonder ‘gift’ from disgustingly overpaid bank CEOs and their minions simply have the three months added on to the end of their mortgage contract period?
We do not have the answer.
But crafty Paschal must have it and he should spell it out for all of our people so that nobody dives into any bath of comfort only to find that there is no water.
The word on the street, not always the gospel according to whoever, but yet often so thought-provoking, is that those who sign up may then face increased monthly repayments in order to finish payments at the time agreed when any mortgage contract was signed.
A wise old owl has posted somewhere that the banks will have told Paschal that any other way of going forward could mean the drawing up of a new contract?
Would you trust the banks or their buddy vultures to do the honourable thing?
Hell freeze over
Be wary, Hell could be about to freeze over.
Leaving all of the latter aside, how in the name of God do FG, our finance minister Paschal Donohue or FF from whatever bunker it is now hiding in, expect people to have money to start repayments after three months of living on beans and toast.
Similarly we heard the genius Eoghan Murphy boast that he had arranged, God bless him, that there would be no evictions for an agreed period during the Coronavirus Emergency.
And God bless him again for displaying such kind heartedness.
It will surely be comforting for families in dread of the Coronavirus to know that they will have a few more months under the roof of their family homes.
Perhaps we are wrong in calling FG right wing?
The party is far right wing, full of bluster, suspicious promises and a cynicism towards ordinary people that is bordering on evil.
Finally, congratulations to Leo on his State of the Nation Address on St Patrick’s birthday.
To be fair Leo delivered it well, just as most primary school students would have done.
That he hadn’t said anything we hadn’t heard before mattered not a hoot.
Fine Gael newsflash
In patting Leo on the back we should also congratulate whatever wonder kid in his PR Department who came up with the clever or perhaps not so clever public relations newsflash for Fine Gael.
The immediate reaction of our people was that we had found the Knight in Shining Armour we have craved for so long.
Then the armour started to rust as people began to muse.
And whoever said that FF guru Micheál Martin, a dead man walking would deliver his speech on Aertel at midnight captured the overall mood of a rather false Feast Day of our Patron Saint.
In the meantime let us cherish the great medical people, particularly frontline nurses and doctors who are leading the fight against a vicious enemy.
Forget about a majority of our politicians, work with and follow the advice of trusted medics and we have some chance of winning what amounts to World War 3.
Relying on politicians would be akin to buying a ticket for a cruise ship called The Titanic.
Working with doctors, nurses and others who are displaying fantastic dedication and community care can get us out the other side, provided we do what they ask of us.
