Madam, - In the Dáil last Tuesday the Taoiseach claimed not to have read that morning's Irish Times interview by Frank Millar with Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.
That is incredible.
Not only did the Minister indicate a significant Government volte-face on Sinn Féin signing up to policing, he also implicitly criticised the Minister for Justice's campaign against ongoing IRA criminality.
Is it credible that the Taoiseach, one week before the Northern Assembly is recalled, didn't bother to look at a well-flagged interview with the man he has put in charge of the peace process?
Is it credible that the Taoiseach, one week before the Assembly is recalled, didn't bother to read that his Minister for Foreign Affairs was changing his Government's policy on support for the PSNI in the North? Is it credible that the Taoiseach, one week before the Assembly is recalled, didn't bother to wonder why his Minister for Foreign Affairs was dismissing the tactics of his Minister for Justice as mere "electoralism"?
In any other European country a prime minister who says he isn't aware of a major interview with one of his senior ministers about such a crucial issue would be a figure of derision. At best, he would be seen as gormless. But in Ireland, the present Taoiseach gets away with it.
Oh, and I don't mind making such points on these pages - safe in the knowledge that the Taoiseach won't be reading.
- Yours, etc,
RONAN FARREN, Dartmouth Square, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
Madam, - In his interview with Frank Millar, Dermot Ahern, on the subject of the PSNI, talks about "the very strong suggestion that over 35 years people within the security services had been involved in some criminal activities. You haven't got that in the Republic. . ."
Is the Minister unaware of the Morris tribunal?
- Yours, etc,
JUSTIN O'REILLY, Airfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6.