Sir, - I am amazed how the Minister for State, Mr O'Dea, can say the No vote showed democracy is alive and well. Wake up, Mr O'Dea. There has never been such a dismal turn-out. You and your party have failed the electorate and created levels of apathy which mock the freedoms our forebears have given their lives for.
While the politicians must accept their responsibility for failing to engage the public, the public is also at fault. How difficult is it to listen to the news and to get to a polling station? It's easier to vote than to hire a video tape for the evening and yet the public stayed at home.
This apathy also a mark of contempt for the freedoms and rights they have been bequeathed. - Yours, etc.,
Richard Herriott, Laindon, Essex.