Madam, - A report in your edition of September 5th regarding details of deals between non-party Dáil representatives and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern quotes Ms Beverley Flynn as saying: "The only people who need to know [ the details of the deal] are the people of Mayo".
Being from a political dynasty, albeit a discredited one, Ms Flynn must surely understand that only when she herself is funding a deal for the people of Co Mayo can the rest of us be excluded from information relevant to such deals. As a taxpayer, I regard Ms Flynn's arrogant patronage as the epitome of parish-pump politics.
The Irish State is not to be regarded as a useful instrument to be manipulated in the service of TDs. May I remind Ms Flynn that her democratic obligations are defined by political and social morality, not by self-serving loyalty to one's constituents? - Yours, etc,
TOM COOPER,
Delaford Lawn,
Knocklyon,
Dublin 16.