Madam, – I was struck by Dr Ruairi Hanley’s whine about Mary Coughlan and Willie O’Dea “grovelling” to Michael Dell (December 24th). If anything is “disturbing”, it is the loss of 2,000 well-paid jobs, which would devastate the country and not just the region. It would also be “disturbing” if the two politicians sat on their hands and did nothing.
I can’t help but draw the conclusion that Dr Hanley lives in a cocoon, and doesn’t yet realise that Ireland is, and always will be, a small, open economy that will remain an economic rag doll at the behest of the wealthier nations. Fair play to Mary Coughlan and Willie O’Dea for reaching out to Michael Dell. I just hope they presented cost-cutting proposals in an effort to keep the jobs in Limerick. – Yours, etc,