Sir, – I was quite taken aback by Pat Leahy's report on Minister for Jobs and Enterprise Mary Mitchell O'Connor ("There really is something about Mary", October 22nd).
I felt very sorry for her to be described as “one of the leading back-bench brown nosers” [of Enda Kenny].
Later on in the report the American term for defecated (dumped) was used to describe the Taoiseach's response to the Minister's proposal for a special tax rate for returning emigrants. Surely such journalism is used only by the gutter press? Or has The Irish Times sunk to a new low? The bottom perhaps?
– Yours, etc,
BRENDAN MURPHY
Greenhills,
Dublin 12.
Sir, – When Pat Leahy says “there is something about Mary Mitchell O’Connor” maybe he should take time to study her actual achievements. His article did not provide a rigorous in-depth analysis of the Minister’s performance. The anonymous contributions were more akin to playground backbiting – hollow slights behind her back but loud enough for her to hear. How heroic!
So, let’s see, sometimes she forgets a name momentarily. Who doesn’t? If that is so, what she never forgets are the details of someone’s life, their well-being and that of their family. Her empathy in this regard is extraordinary. Empathy is not a trait common to all Fine Gael politicians nor to politicians in general. They should aim to learn from her.
Look around at the other Cabinet members. A few are very good, many are average, the rest are invisible. Ms Mitchell O’Connor is not invisible. She is colour in a sea of grey, a person with an individual style. This is a sign of intelligence, creativity and authenticity.
There is a degree of sexism here. Many male politicians have their own quirks, sartorial and otherwise, that do not interfere with their performance.
On the matter of the reduced tax rate for returning emigrants, she was attacked from every quarter. Richard Bruton proposed the same policy one year ago and it barely caused a murmur. I wonder why?
There’s something about Mary, okay, but you’re not bothering to find out what that something is. May I suggest that you dig a bit deeper than the cheap shot. – Yours, etc,
ELIZABETH SWORDS,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.