A Chara, - Martin Mansergh (July 16th) keeps a close eye on me! But while he may observe my actions closely, consistency seems to fly out the door in his commentary on them. Thus, he criticised me not long ago because a picture (taken over 25 years ago) appeared of me shaking hands with Fidel Castro. Strangely enough, his sensitivities were not offended by an extremely recent picture of his party leader shaking hands with one of the world's last feudal monarchs, the king of Saudi Arabia.
And he's at it again now. He defends his party's involvement in the "university" Seanad elections by referring to myself, an NUI senator and leader of the Labour Seanad Group. Once again irony and contradiction is lost on him. I am a member of the Labour Party but the candidate supported by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste is more than a little coy about his party political affiliations.
Surely Mr Mansergh would agree with me that if candidates are supporters or members of particular political parties they should acknowledge that fact and not hide behind a spurious independence. - Yours, etc,
Senator BRENDAN RYAN,
Seanad Éireann,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - Martin Mansergh's argument purporting to support democracy is greatly undermined by his own party's practice of insisting that all government members who vote in the Seanad election (excluding the six university seats) are obliged to show his or her vote to their political masters. At best this can be described as paternalism, at worst, a distinct form of dictatorship. Most of all, it successfully ensures political passivity while at the same time undermining the notion of freedom of choice.
Mr Mansergh also believes that "if the Seanad [ were] a more directly elected body, [ it would be] in a position to challenge and frustrate the Dáil". Ignoring what Mr Mansergh implies about the wisdom - or lack of it - of the electorate, it is a little odd that he seems unable to understand that constructive debate between the two houses might just be another possibility.
I, for one, have no idea what Mr Mansergh is talking about when he says the "debate" about university seats necessitating a revision of the rest of the Seanad is a "brilliant delaying tactic". What debate? Whose tactic exactly? The merits or otherwise of Seanad revision is "debated" only once every five years, during election time.
Mr Mansergh's letter is curious indeed. It seems to have little to do with any real notion of democracy, as he would like us to believe. It is rather more about the pursuit of power. No wonder the Seanad remains in disrepute. - Yours, etc,
Dr VALERIE BRESNIHAN,
Woodbine Road,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.