Sir, - Now that the general election is over and many new TDs will be taking their seats in the 29th Dáil, questions need to be asked and answered promptly for a future credible government.
It is clear that a thorough and comprehensive disclosure must be made of election expenses from all newly-elected representatives. It is abundantly obvious that some candidates had just hundreds of euro at their disposal, while others were able to afford thousands, thus putting many candidates at a distinct disadvantage. If I were one of the losers, I would be asking why this situation was permitted in the first instance!
Many candidates have other financial interests, some which accrue thousands of euro annually, and these should be in the public domain from day one. At present these interests seem to appear only when there is a tribunal on the horizon and we all know how much such investigations cost the State.
TDs with professions should be required to relinquish their posts for the duration of their term in public office. General practitioners must not subject their patients to a chain of locum doctors, who have no consistent knowledge of their patients and their medications.
School principal positions are held by absentee individuals, which cannot be satisfactory for the teaching staff and pupils. Education is paramount for our youngsters in their formative years and their needs and teaching facilities need to be monitored regularly. I do not imply that deputies do not do a good job, but their hands are often tied, when in fact they should have a free rein!
Solicitors, whose services are not cheap, are often absent from their practices and unable to give their clients an efficient and professional service, because of governmental commitments.
In essence, no elected TD should be seen to be using their public office to further enhance their enterprises, or attempting to amass a sizable income at the cost of the taxpayer and constituent. Transparency is the "in" word and now is the time to make this word a reality. - Yours, etc.,
P.J. GIBBONS,
Mulranny,
Westport,
Co Mayo.
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Sir, - In my opinion Fine Gael largely brought its poor election performance on itself by its stupid decision in February 2001 to oust John Bruton as leader. Mr Bruton was a man of great experience and had done an excellent job while Taoiseach. Michael Noonan had no leadership experience for this demanding role and the people could not readily identify with him in the role of Taoiseach.
We also failed to sell our manifesto to the voting public. There must also be some irony in the fact that those instrumental in the ousting of John Bruton have now lost their seats as well as costing colleagues dearly!
We now need John Bruton at the helm again. He is the best and most experienced person for the onerous task of rebuilding FG and while he was Taoiseach both he and Finola carried out their functions with dignity. - Yours, etc.,
SEAMUS NAUGHTEN,
Annaville Park,
Dundrum,
Dublin 14.
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Sir, - Now that the results of the election are evident, could pundits, commentators, journalists and sub-editors please stop using the laziest, most obvious and hackneyed phrase floating around the media at the moment? I refer to the infamous Bill Clinton remark, "It's the economy, stupid", recently adapted in various forms such as: It's the health service/voter apathy/lack of opposition/infrastructure/lack of leadership/sleaze, stupid.
It has to go away, you know. - Is mise,
PATRICK HORAN,
Jervis Place,
Abbey Street,
Dublin 1.
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Sir, - In 1987 Alan Dukes, the newly elected leader of Fine Gael, was asked at his first press conference what his aims and objectives were. He said "My first mission is to bury the Progressive Democrats." What a negative ambition from a newly elected political leader!
Is it any wonder that, having endured such leadership, Fine Gael find themselves in the sorry plight that they are in today. Maybe soon they will bury themselves. - Yours, etc.,
ADRIAN HONAN,
Portarlington,
Co Laois.
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Sir, - I was very impressed, on my way into Dublin this morning, to see election posters being taken down already. This evening, however, my positive feelings vanished as I walked across the bridge over the motorway which was heavily littered with the discarded plastic ties. Other ties were firmly attached to the bridge railings!
What is it in our national psyche that can allow us only to half-finish the job? - Yours, etc.,
LAVINIA MacCARTHY,
De Vesci Court,
Monkstown,
Co Dublin.
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Sir, - Opinion polls, both national and local, were proven way off the mark when the results began to come in from the constituencies. Yet, during the run-up to the election, a great deal of time, on radio and television, was taken up discussing them.
A large proportion of the so-called debate was little more than the subsidised gibberings of fantasists, with as little relationship to reality as a fairy story, but to the effective exclusion of drawn-out and serious analysis of real problems facing people. Spurious percentage figures are easier to understand and discuss than real figures and forecasts for health funding or social housing, which require some work to comprehend.
Perhaps this helps explain why interest in the election failed to take off during the campaign, with many commentators reporting indifference among many voters. - Yours, etc.,
EOIN DILLON,
Ceannt Fort,
Mount Brown,
Dublin 8.
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Sir, - I wonder how many members of the electorate understand how proportional representation works. In my 10 years at secondary school in Dublin, the complications of the system were never explained to us. - Yours, etc.,
ARTHUR REYNOLDS,
Seapoint Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
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Sir, - There are now more former Fine Gael leaders in the land of the living than there are FG TDs in the whole of Dublin.
Is this a record? - Yours, etc.,
PAUL DELANEY,
Beacon Hill,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.