Sir, - Only a person who is blinded by his own pomposity could behave the way Padraig Flynn did on the Late Late Show last Friday.
The smugness and insensitivity with which he spoke about his big salary of £140,000 (paid by the taxpayer), his three houses, three cars and his pensions - to say nothing of his huge expenses - left me with a feeling of disgust. Apart from the vulgarity of such arrogant boasting, could he not have spared a thought for the section of Irish society on the poverty line, for those hard-working people who are not benefiting from the so-called Celtic Tiger or for those who will never rise to owning their own home?
What particularly angered me was his throwaway remark about the expensive business of having three houses - in Castlebar, in Dublin and in Brussels; that we should "try it sometime". How utterly grotesque! Imagine asking a man on £100 or £150 a week struggling to raise a family to visualise owning three houses.
Well done to Gay Byrne for giving Mr Flynn the opportunity to put his big foot in his big mouth again. - Yours, etc., Celine Hussey,
Capel Street, Dublin 1.