Sir, – Tim Bracken (July 20th) congratulates Fine Gael “for kicking out the rebels who have effectively misrepresented themselves to the electorate by not supporting their party”.
I think most people are clear-minded enough to understand that the rebels were kicked out because they wanted the party to fulfil its promises to the electorate.
The imposition of a party whip to break promises or to violate one’s conscience, whatever one’s perspective, is a bridge too far for many in the electorate. We need people who are not afraid to say what they think and who are not castigated for doing so.
Noel Whelan’s account (Opinion & Analysis, July 20th) of Dr Mary Murphy’s recent report, under the headline “Dáil’s newest intake deeply frustrated by its straitjacket”, should be compulsory reading for anyone remotely connected to Fine Gael. The report confirms that the new deputies are deeply unhappy with the working of the Dáil and with their own ineffectiveness within it. “Frustration . . . is palpable and many are troubled by the very nature of the institution”.
They are, Dr Murphy says, “particularly frustrated by the limits they face in exercising influence in the Dáil” and “by their inability to influence the Government or party position on issues”. They describe the Dáil as a “strait-jacketed, unproductive environment”, and one Fine Gael TD, two years after having been elected, felt “disappointed, disillusioned and disenchanted”.
So much for the party whip.
If by casting my vote I am condemning poor unfortunate Fine Gael TDs to such a fate, I will never vote for them again. Instead I would rather vote for a flock of sheep which could be driven in and out at a political party leader’s behest, and allow the leader with most sheep to win Dáil votes every time, than to have our elected representatives subjected to such tribalism.
It is time to have secret ballots and to give some freedom to our TDs. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS O’CALLAGHAN,
Bullock Park,
Carlow.