Madam, - Never in my lifetime has one government shown such continued incompetence and bewilderment. We have had failure after failure, and stated principles have been dissipated at every turn.
Our political leaders allowed themselves to be beaten on the Lisbon Treaty by a cranky millionaire. They tried to introduce means-testing for the over-70s' medical cards, and were forced to reverse their decision in the face of public outrage. Having not learned their lesson, they had to do the same with the disability work allowance.
Only months ago the Taoiseach announced that the "fundamentals of the economy are sounds", even though the facts and the mathematics showed we were heading for recession. The Government has squandered the boom, antagonised unions, civil servants, farmers, teachers and healthcare workers.
Private enterprise is struggling because of the lack of credit, yet in spite of writing a blank cheque for the banks, the Government has not put in place one single policy to help business. Class sizes are being increased and university fees are being reintroduced. And now the cervical cancer vaccination programme has been cancelled.
The role of the Government is not merely to announce cuts when things are going bad, or good news in better times. It is to manage the country and its economy for the betterment of its people and not itself. It has failed at every turn. - Is mise,
TOM NEVILLE,
Leopardstown,
Dublin 18.