Sir, - Mary Harney (Opinion, September 20th) talks about "an outmoded philosophy of high taxation and heavy regulation" in the "major economies in Europe". Sweden, Austria, Finland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands all have significantly and sensibly higher tax regimes than us. They also have vastly better healthcare, housing, social security, education and infrastructure than we do. In most of them, indigenous industry (e.g. Nokia, Eriksson, Statoil) is in far better shape than our own.
None of them has the sort of horrendous rates of unemployment she pronounces on. They also have comparatively low crime rates, high quality environmental protection (Mary Harney's "heavy regulation?") and systems of childcare that we can only dream of.
Civilised countries recognise that economic growth is a means, not an end, and use it accordingly to build compassionate coherent societies that work.
I like things that work. The civilised countries of Europe do that. If Mary Harney has her way, we won't!
Not for the first time the PDs and their allies - the Taoiseach, and the Minister for Finance - are letting ideology take over from reality. - Yours, etc.,
Brendan Ryan, Seanad Eireann, Dublin 2.