Sir, – Almost every major western state, with the exception of Sweden, underwent revolution as part of its modernising process. Southern Ireland, not a major state, nonetheless underwent revolution as part of its formative process, and eventually became a republic. Revolution, however traumatic at the time, is a normal part of western state formation; people may not want it, feel deeply ambiguous about it, but they want the alternative less – in southern Ireland’s case continued domination and exploitation by the metropolitan centre with attendant, it was believed, economic underdevelopment.
Those who are either opposed to or ambivalent about revolution, believing that southern Irish participation in the first World War, together with the essential fairness of the British parliamentary system, was bound to bring about independence, have a difficult case to make: the subordination of the interests of the dominions to the needs of the metropolitan centre until quite recently being not the least of the obstacles to the case they seek to make.
Had there been no radical discontinuity in Irish history it would of course have been quite easy to imagine a Redmondite John Bruton sitting at Westminster, where he might even have become vice-chairman of the agriculture committee. However, given what did occur, he became taoiseach of an independent republic. Yours, etc,
EOIN DILLON,
Ceannt Fort,
Mount Brown,
Dublin 8
Sir, – It is probably unlikely that Fintan O’Toole’s cogent critique will disturb John Bruton’s sangfroid. One is reminded of Upton Sinclair’s observation that “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Yours, etc,
PAT ROONEY,
St John’s Court,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22
Sir, – I find myself half-agreeing with Fintan O’Toole (August 12th). John Bruton sums up why Fine Gael is just another power-hungry party. But Bruton is correct when he says governments will have to start reneging on current welfare entitlements.
There are now only a handful of properly run democracies that are living within their means. Increasingly governments gain and retain power by promising people a standard of living they are not earning. This ratchets up the national debt, which is then left for future generations to pay for. In Ireland, approximately 150, 000 people have never worked, yet we continue to import labour and we pay hospital consultants approximately two and a half times as much as their German equivalents. We still have the third-highest-paid prime minister in the EU and an army of senior civil servants and former politicians whose pension pots each cost more than €1 million each. This suits the lobby groups, minority groups and vested interests who now control government policy. The only people it does not suit are Joe and Mary Taxpayer, and the future generations of working and middle class Irish. We are witnessing the steady death of meaningful participatory democracy. – Yours, etc,
GERRY KELLY,
Orwell Gardens,
Dublin 6
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole’s column (August 12th) is quite unfair to John Bruton. There is no basis for the assertion that former taoisigh receive their pensions on the condition that they will not engage in paid work. The pension scheme may be in need of reform, but if so this applies to all retired office-holders, not just to John Bruton. Given that he was aged 50 when he ceased to be taoiseach, it’s not surprising that he has had a career subsequently. – Yours, etc,
TOM SHEEDY,
Seapark,
Malahide,
Co Dublin
A chara, – If, as John Bruton reportedly believes, governments are going to default on their commitments to healthcare and pensions, when, in his judgement, should we default on our income taxes and social charges? – Is mise,
CORMAC SHERIDAN,
Aughrim Street,
Dublin 7