Enough is enough; Payments should end with managers

Enough is enoughIt is hard not to agree with assertion that the introduction of the septic tank change by the government is an attack on rural life. It is even harder to disagree with the school of thought that the controversial registration charge is more about generating revenues to pay back the debts accrued by irresponsible bankers than about ensuring our water supply meets EU regulations.The large number of people that attended the public meeting on septic tanks in The Downs last week reflects the deep anger rural dwellers feel about this most unwelcome of taxes. Although they pay the same taxes as urban dwellers, country people get a lot less bang for their buck when it comes to the provision of services.Now, when the country is in the middle of the worst economic crisis in its history and people are really struggling, our political leaders, in tandem when the real rulers of the country, the troika, have decided to levy a €50 charge on households that over the years have saved the government millions by building and maintaining their own septic tanks.If that wasn't enough, if their tanks don't pass stringent EU regulations, rural householders will be obliged to replace or upgrade them at considerable cost. While some may look at Fianna Fáil's vocal opposition to the charge as political opportunism of the highest order, at some point the people of Ireland will have to say enough is enough. Perhaps this time has come with the introduction of this most discriminatory of taxes.Payments should end with managersThere is a lot of merit in Westmeath County Board chairman Tom Farrell's support for the payment of GAA managers. For well over a decade, managers at both club and county level have been the recipients of so called under-the-counter payments.The fact that such payments have been clandestine has led to widespread speculation about the sums that some clubs and county boards are prepared to part with in the quest for championship glory.Not only will the taxman benefit if managerial payments are sanction by the GAA, but the organisation should, in theory, benefit from a new era of openness and transparency.However, it is hard to discount the argument put forward by some commentators that the payment of managers is a significant step down the road to the payment of players and an end to the GAA's amateur status.It is this status, with the parish at its core, that makes the GAA unique in the sporting world. Visitors to Ireland are constantly amazed that games in which the participants don't get paid can attract crowds in the tens of thousands and that sporting gods such as Dessie Dolan or Henry Shefflin devote vast swathes of their youths to the pursuit of sporting excellence for nothing other than the thrill of representing their club and country.Let's hope that if and when the payment of managers is introduced, it is not the beginning of the end and that the GAA remains a beacon for all that is good about sport for centuries to come.