Oireachtas banking inquiry

Sir, – Does anyone remember Fine Gael’s “Five-Point Plan”? If I recall correctly point number four was “A New Politics: Abolishing the Seanad, reforming the Dáil and empowering the citizen. Real power to the people”.

I heard Minister for Finance Michael Noonan explaining that the Taoiseach’s fixing of the make-up of the banking inquiry committee was “normal politics”.

Clearly “New Politics” is still in its infancy. – Yours, etc,

PAT MURPHY,

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Rathdown Park,

Greystones,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – Thank goodness that there is still a columnist within The Irish Times who is always prepared to write what should be obvious to most – the truth. Stephen Collins is a breath of fresh air and I just hope that all the politicians read it and heed it ("Sound and fury overwhelm rational political debate, Opinion & Analysis, June 4th).

In relation to the GSOC report, Mr Collins writes that “The only conclusion to be drawn from the report is that the political system and the media spent three months engaging in a wild goose chase”.

And now we are going to spend how many more months and money on another wild goose chase in the form of the proposed and already discredited banking inquiry.

Long may Mr Collins continue to spell out the truth for us. – Yours, etc,

MARTIN CROTTY,

Seaford Gardens,

Blackrock,

Co Louth.

Sir, – Peadar O’Sullivan (June 17th) has surely got his football analogy the wrong way round – it would be difficult for Stephen Donnelly to grab a ball that Enda Kenny had already walked off with and held firmly in his grasp. All he has done is puncture it, and rightly so, although he would have found it impossible to find a pin big enough to puncture the Taoiseach’s ego as well. – Yours, etc,

NORMAN DAVIES,

Belton Terrace,

Bray,

Co Wicklow.