Sir, – It seems that Martin McGuinness and Theresa Villiers have taken their sparring spectacular to the United States ("Villiers v McGuinness in US PR battle over political deadlock", July 28th).
Whatever about Irish-American sentiment, hard-pressed workers across the United States would have little sympathy for Sinn Féin’s whinging over welfare reforms. Many breadwinners in that country have to take on two or three poorly paid jobs just to make ends meet.
It has been no bed of roses here either. People are only beginning to emerge from the shadow of recession in our own little Republic. Cuts were, and still are, a fact of life for many workers on low and middle incomes.
Taxpayers across the UK must wonder why they are obliged to supplement a bloated and cosseted public sector in Northern Ireland, while they must endure ongoing austerity.
It is time for Sinn Féin, and indeed the SDLP, to stop pandering to the populist vote. There is a duty on all governments, including the Northern Ireland Assembly, to shoulder their responsibilities and take the hits with the same equanimity as the plaudits. Failure to act with good authority will simply encourage a return to social unrest. – Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY,
Dublin 5.