Madam, – Maybe Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan is right. We should have free things. Free-to-air sounds like a great idea.
And while he’s at that – seeking to ensure that a large number of people can see certain programmes on TV because they’re interested – I think he should also introduce a few other free initiatives.
Let’s start with free-to-water – water is essential, so let’s have that free. Let Mr Ryan tell Minister for the Environment John Gormley to forget about charging us for water. And what about free-to-dump? We have to get rid of all our household waste. That’s an essential service. Oh yes, and what about free-to-electricity or free-to-gas? We need both of them too, so let’s have them free.
It’s rubbish to talk about making watching a rugby match a free activity when Mr Ryan won’t give us for free things we fundamentally need. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Eamon Ryan’s flawed thinking about making the Six Nations and Heineken Cup available on terrestrial channels is typical of politicians hitching their wagons to the populist cause.
The rise in popularity of rugby in this country comes primarily from hard work at grass roots level by the IRFU and coaches up and down the country. As with all successful teams, it now finds itself at the mercy of the greater public rather than those who have served its cause so well over the years.
Most of the current crop of rugby players had to content themselves with watching their heroes a maximum of four times a year on television in the old format Five Nations. They did not grow up watching the European Cup but rather in watching their fathers, uncles, brothers and friends playing with pride for their local clubs. If the Government wishes to promote rugby so badly in this country, why does it not decree that the national broadcaster must show more than one All Ireland League game a season, a league in which all the current squad of Ireland players have plied their trade at one time or other and that is currently struggling to remain afloat while the professional game flourishes?
If people want a return on the Government’s support of Irish rugby, I’d suggest they go down to their local club on any Saturday or Sunday morning and witness their investment at work. I’m sure they’ll find it more rewarding than an afternoon in front of the television. – Is mise,
R MONAHAN,
Wicklow.
Madam, – And I thought talent, loyalty and hard work were responsible for our recent rugby triumphs; from what IRFU spokespeople are saying, money is the root cause of it. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Irish soccer and Scottish rugby are two reasons Eamon Ryan needs to rethink his approach to forcing the IRFU and its constituent branches into having their six nations and Heineken Cup matches broadcast on free-to-air TV.
While the proposal will not “destroy” rugby in Ireland – I have no doubt the game will continue to be played – it will mean big changes. Connacht would no longer be able to compete professionally, Ulster might well be forced to secede from the union and Munster and Leinster would be impoverished in the way Glasgow and Edinburgh have been.
What might have been, had Sky been around at the end of 1960s is anybody’s guess – but it is too late now to make any difference. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I applaud Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan’s proposal to have such immensely popular rugby events as the Six Nations Championship and the Heineken Cup broadcast on free-to-air TV.
The IRFU’s response to this announcement is nothing short of spoilsport and scrooge-like. How dare they seek to restrict who can and cannot see the big matches? Rugby was around for a long time before corporate sponsorship was ever heard of.
The organisation’s high-handed attitude has echoes of the elitism and arrogance that once characterised the Irish rugby scene: better-off people can watch the game, but it’s tough luck for those on a lower income, the plebs whose sporting interests don’t count.
Surely the views of fans should be taken into account? Our country is in the grip of a soul-destroying economic recession. Many people cannot afford the luxury of pay-to-view TV and would be thrilled to be able to switch on their TVs and watch their heroes in action.
These include pensioners, and, as I discovered this week, lifelong rugby fans who happen to be in nursing homes and hospitals who, if the IRFU gets its way, will be denied the great joy and privilege of seeing their country’s sporting ambassadors perform on the world stage. Such people cannot just pop along to the nearest pub to see a match, or flick to Sky Sports.
The IRFU is missing the bigger picture. All of us are agreed that rugby is a great game and that Irish players have done us proud. That doesn’t make it OK to want to squeeze extra cash out of people who are in the autumn or winter of their lives or struggling to exist on a pittance.
Sport is about more than making money for a select group of people who see it purely as a lucrative business opportunity. It is about the promotion of national and community spirit through skill and athletic achievement, and providing wholesome entertainment for all those people who either attend matches or watch them on TV.
Our leaders have done a lot of things that make us want to throw them out, but on this occasion I believe they are to be commended. The Minister is opening up the sport of rugby to a wider audience.
That is surely a fair and democratic initiative, one that is beneficial to the reputation and long-term viability of the sport, and most definitely in the public interest. – Yours, etc,