DAVID MARLBOROUGH,
Sir, - Our esteemed Taoiseach may find the cost required to commit to benchmarking "horrendous", "a headache" and a threat to economic viability. However, given that these increases average out around a meagre 9 per cent, it's interesting to note how the 27 per cent pay rises awarded to politicians under the Buckley Report managed to pass harmlessly through the economy without causing the merest ripple of discomfort! - Yours, etc.,
DAVID MARLBOROUGH, Kenilworth Park, Dublin 6W.