05/09 The Sunday Papers

The Front Pages

On the front of the Irish Examiner they have, ‘8,000 jobs lost as state budgets unspent,’ in which CIF policy and research director Martin Whelan claims the Governent’s underspending on capital has cost Irish people jobs in construction. The Government has underspent by €800million in capital this year, it is claimed, and about ten jobs are created for every €1 million invested.

“This volume of capital investment has the potential to sustain 8,000 construction jobs for a year,” Martin Whelan said. The Irish Examiner also has the story that ‘23 special needs students [were] denied a place at school.’ Out of 30 students already enrolled in St Joseph’s Special School in Balrothery, Tallaght, 23 were turned away because ‘the SENO would not authorise the children’s place in the school as there were outstanding issues to be dealt with by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).’

On the front of the Sunday Independent is ‘Anglo will bankrupt country, says poll,’ which is the story that 73 per cent of respondants believe Anglo will bankrupt Ireland according to a Sunday Independent/Quantum Research poll. The Indo also has ‘We’re paid peanuts compared to soccer stars, says Pat Kenny,’ in which the frontline host shows an extraordinary lack of perspective. “I wonder why there isn’t the same fuss over the salaries paid to footballers like John O’Shea, earning more in three weeks than Marian Finucane earns in a year,” he says.

“There is a double standard there. These people put themselves on the line, they entertain the nation week in week out, and yet they are paid a trivial amount compared to footballers.” €12,500 a week (€630,000 a year) is hardly trivial, and footballers are not subsidised by their own government, and the Premier League is watched in hundreds of countries, not just by people on an Island in the western periphery of Europe with a population half that of London.

In The Sunday Times, the headline is ‘Fianna Fail gives way on by-election,’ which notes that Fianna Fail is finally planning to hold the Donegal South West by-election in March to frustrate Sinn Fein’s court challenge, but is still planning to defer the by-elections of Waterford and Dublin South.

Tales of the Tabs

In the Sunday World is the headline ‘Gift grub’ which gives details of the RTE’s canteen prices, where a three course meal will set you back only €7. A bowl of soup is €1.02, a caramalised onion and stout sausage in a red wine sauce is €3.67, while the television licence fee is €160.

The Irish News of the World has ‘Cheating Roo beds hooker,’ which reveals that Wayne Rooney has once again been paying for sex. It is a prostitute more than half the age of his last one, though. He paid 21-year-old Jenny Thompson €1,500-a-time, while his wife, Coleen, was pregnant.

The Irish Mail on Sunday gives the story that a cruise by American Holidays had to be cancelled due to lack of interest. The travel company’s newspaper ad read, ‘Cruise with the legendary George Hook. An opportunity NOT to be missed! from (sic) €1,169. Listen to George Hook give seminars on “how to beat the recession,” and “Irish Rugby to the World Cup 2010” as well as enjoying his usual craic and repartee whilst cruising around the Mediterranean!’

The Sports Pages

In the Irish Mail on Sunday, former Tipp manager Babs Keating once again has a go at current boss Liam Sheedy ahead of the All-Ireland final. “I’ve always said that the only way to beat Kilkenny is to man-mark their defence. I honestly believe Sheedy hasn’t been preparing them to do that since last October when he should have been. You look at Sheedy on the sidelines and he’s doing Riverdances. Brian Cody on the other hand looks like he has earplugs in his ears.”

The Irish News of the World has ‘We Moscow to finals,’ in which Trapattoni insists that he has “no doubt we will qualify”. The paper also writes, ‘You Av 3 games,’ in which it is claimed that recently appointed West ham boss Avram Grant has only three matches to save his job.

The Sunday World has ‘Don’t go Co,’ in which it is claimed that Kilkenny’s players begged Brian Cody not to leave the helm if Kilkenny do make history and win the Cats fifth All-Ireland in a row. There is growing speculation, according to Roy Curtis, that Cody will leave the Cats on a high if they win today’s final. He has been in charge of Kilkenny for 13 years.