Madam, - Fianna Fáil backbench TDs can only dream of involvement in policy formation while that is done down at the intellectual powerhouse in PD headquarters. Now even their stab at forming a committee along the lines of the British Tory Party's 1922 Committee has been neutered by Bertie Ahern.
However, the initiative may portend great changes within Fianna Fáil. The striking similarity between FF and Tory backbenchers is that when their own seats are in danger, there are no more ruthless political animals in the democratic world. Not even the dearest leader gets time to clear his desk if either group gets the whiff of impending electoral defeat. - Yours, etc,
HUGO BRADY BROWN, Stratford on Slaney, Co Wicklow.