Sir, – Why does a large chunk of the Irish electorate treat their TDs as glorified social workers? I elect my TD to progress policies on the issues of the day, eg housing, healthcare and climate change, yet for many people the relationship they have with their TD is “transactional” – what they can do for us as individuals.
Chasing up a passport application or getting a grant for the local GAA club, is valued.
Years of scrutinising proposed legislation, probing witnesses at Oireachtas committees, or initiating policy change goes unremarked, yet can benefit the lives of far more people.
The passport service is a mess, but prioritising applications from people who have an “in” with their local TD, is inequitable, diverts that TD from work they should be doing and results in continued lack of progress on strategic issues.
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– Yours, etc,
KENNETH HARPER,
Burtonport, Co Donegal.
Sir, – TDs have made over 12,000 queries about individual applications to the Passport Office since the start of this year (“Passport Service sent over 12,000 queries by TDs”, News, June 7th).
This is an average of three queries a week from each TD to the service.
What result do TDs expect from these queries? Do they want their constituents to skip the queue? Do they want their constituent to obtain a passport even if not entitled to one?
Is there any query that a TD might make that their constituents cannot make themselves? Why can’t their constituents use the many organisations – both State-funded and voluntary – that will help people in their interactions with the public service?
Whereas TDs should clearly retain the right to make broad generic enquiries about public service delivery, enquiries about individual constituents should be identified as corrupt practice and should be banned.
– Yours, etc,
PAVEL MARIANSKI,
Dungarvan, Co Waterford.