You know, for all the complaining and belly-aching, it makes me glad that I live in a country where justice is meted out as efficiently and effectively as it is here in Ireland. Not a few short weeks ago we were up in arms about TDs expenses and the fact they were, almost to a man, claiming money for all kinds of stuff without having to provide reciepts for anything.

Then we got rid of John O’Donoghue as Ceann Comhairle and now the whole problem is solved. Well, I assume it is because nobody’s talking about it anymore, are they? No. Now it’s Public Service v Private Sector in preparation for the inevitable civil war. It’s teacher against plumber, Garda taking on shop worker, Fireman vs waiter and nurse against hairdresser.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. We couldn’t have this kind of battle if we were all worried and outraged about politicians expenses so big up to the Gubbernment for sorting that out with such alacrity.

When the budget is released in December and we are taxed to the hilt to pay for the mistakes and the greed and the fraud perpetrated on the people of this country by a very small few we’ll be able to take solace in the fact that politicians have led by example. We can be proud that they got their own house in order first before telling us what to do, eh?

What a good example they will set by taking a pay cut. ‘Hey! Look at us. We’re prepared to take a hit … now it’s your turn’, and we’ll know deep in our hearts that they can no longer offset any pay cut by simply bumping up their unvouched expenses. We’ll take comfort, as we munch our freezing cold gruel, that TDs no longer get an extra payment for simply turning up to work, that those overnight stay expenses have been shelved and all the other perks that they enjoyed in boom time have been consigned to history.

We can look the UK where they’re engaged in the costly process of prosecuting some MPs for fiddling their expenses and we can feel sorry for them. Sorry that they don’t have a system like ours. Sorry that they have to go to the bother of finding replacements for those in public office who have systematically defrauded the people they were elected to represent. As we go toe to toe with our defined benefit pension enemies, for once we can look down our noses at the English because we solved all our problems by taking a gammy cloak and a gavel away from one man.

Damn, we’re good.