Sir, – It is sad to see the leader of the Labour Party seeking kudos on the basis that the “top 5 per cent of income earners pay 44 per cent of all income tax” (Home News, November 30th).
Such a statistic, taken out of context, should be meaningless to any genuine pursuer of a fair and decent society. Aside from the fact that income tax accounts for only about a third of all taxes raised, in Victorian Britain for example, all income tax was paid by just half-a-million people – and the reason was the gross income inequality that prevailed.
Income inequality is the real measure that a Labour Party should be focused on and the last comparison table showed Ireland ranked 23rd out of 31 EU countries. Since that table was compiled we have had two additional budgets that everyone knows were regressive and which further increased inequity in Irish society.
If statistics are not Eamon Gilmore’s thing, he can always just take a ramble around any local community where he will readily see the evidence of the grossly unfair policies that he and his party have enthusiastically supported over the past three years. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.
Sir, – The Labour Party conference in Killarney had, as far as I can ascertain, no motions dissenting on Labour in Government and policies being implemented and no serious debates on issues affecting a large section of the electorate. I will go so far as to say it was a whitewash. It seems that it was a conference extremely happy with Labour in Government and that the majority of ordinary angry suffering people are out of step with the Labour. Also, a large number of Labour Party members are very unhappy with the party leadership.
I joined the party 1n 1979 and attended almost all conferences and took part in serious debate on issues I agreed and disagreed with. Labour was always a broad church and encouraged debate since its foundation. Centralism rules now seem to apply and the conference displayed no dissent at a time when there is serious and widespread dissatisfaction with the party. A lot of soul-searching will now take place about the future. Trust and fairness were the reasons people voted Labour. – Yours, etc,
EAMONN WALSH,
(Former TD and councillor),
Limekiln Green,
Limekiln Farm, Dublin 12.
Sir, – I noted with concern that during his address to the Labour Party conference, the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore TD, devoted only two sentences to Northern Ireland. I would suggest that his position as Minister for Foreign Affairs, a department which carries key responsibilities for the peace process, demands that his public pronouncements give more attention to the North than simply fleeting references. The Tánaiste is unfortunately not alone. The Taoiseach gave no mention to the North at his most recent party conference address in Limerick.
The apparent lack of priority given to Northern affairs has been a noticeable trend in the life of this Government. As Richard Haass enters into what may be the most intense set of negotiations since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, the role of the British and Irish governments will be vital in finding a path through the stalemate which currently impedes the political institutions of the North.
In this context, I sincerely hope that the Tánaiste will have more to offer than a mere two sentences. – Yours, etc,
EOIN BRADLEY,
Foyle Road, Derry.