"Jail may be the answer."
Such is one of the most extreme expressions of disgust in provincial newspaper editorials at the latest revelations concerning Fianna Fail fund-raising, and at Bertie Ahern's handling of his party's ongoing troubles.
It comes in the Kerryman, which argues that the longer the impression of widespread political corruption pervades, the more extreme will have to be the remedy to restore public confidence in the body politic. "There is a compelling argument," says the editorial, "that it would take the imprisonment of somebody found guilty of a crime for the general public to begin to recover their faith in the political system."
The Longford Leader muses that "Charlie Haughey would be entitled to smile" as he observes that he could not be blamed for the latest rounds of corruption allegations, brought on by "Mr Flynn's problems".
Following this train of thought, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is brought to task in the Wicklow People. His "faulty recollection about meetings with Mr Gilmartin has undermined his credibility", it says.
Of the various accounts of meetings given by Mr Gilmartin and Mr Flynn, the Kilkenny People says simply, "someone is lying".
The Kerryman, however, is not alone in its call for prison. The Kildare Nationalist asks: "If various public figures escape prison sentences, what kind of signal does this send out to others tempted onto the same road? The message must be sent out loud and clear . . . If that means that former taoisigh or ministers end up behind bars, then so be it." The Kilkenny People reports the "stunning defeat" for a sitting councillor of 16 years at a Fine Gael selection convention, by a 19-year-old student. Mr John Phelan, of Tullogher, "ousted Cllr Johnny Maher of Templeorum, Piltown," we are told, "at the Piltown electoral area convention."
Away from politics, it seems women are forging ahead, while separated men are described as being "like fish out of water". Cllr Jimmy Sheridan is reported in the Western People telling Ballina UDC of men who "once separated from their wives find themselves back to square one . . . living with their parents as they cannot afford an apartment or building site".
Describing them as "handy men", he was told by the county manager, Mr Alex Fleming, these man had no priority when it came to housing. Chairman Mr Neil Doherty agreed it was a "very serious social problem".
In Kerry, meanwhile, the concern is about the county's brightest women being lost to farther-flung parts. The Kerryman reports that sociologist Dr Gearoid O Donnchadha has warned that new jobs are needed in west Kerry to halt the "massive decline in its female . . . population".
"Women from west Kerry are very well educated and have to go further afield to find suitable work," he says.
A Longford man has said he meant no harm to the church in running his business in signed Mass cards. The Longford Leader quotes Mr Tom McNally as saying that his business has "simply developed from an opportunity to take advantage of a niche in the market". Galway priest Father Conor Cunningham spoke out on RTE's Marian Finucane Show saying he had tried to get information on Father Medrick Chimbwanya, whose name was signed on the Mass cards being sold in shops. He questioned the bona fides of the priest. Mr McNally would not reveal the whereabouts of Father Chimbwanya, who was "on the missions", saying "the local bishop would put the kibosh on him with pressure from the clergy in Ireland".
Mr McNally's cards are £2, while most priests in Ireland would charge between £5 and £8 for signing a Mass card, according to the Longford Leader.
The Western People has two beastly stories. The first, on its front page, tells of the north-west's radioactive sheep. The Radiological Protection Institute has warned in its annual report that the region is one of three (the others being the north-east and south) where sheep grazing in mountainous areas "contain radioactivity above the level considered suitable for marketing".
The second has Cllr Gerry Moore identifying the "crapping dogs" which are a "scourge of Ballina's footpaths".
"They are crapping all over the place," he said, "especially Corcoran Terrace." Furthermore, the councillor is aware "who the offending animals are", and they are not from Corcoran Terrace either. They are "from other parts of town".
