Pay And Partnership

Sir, - Des Geraghty's plea (Opinion, October 5th) for greater fairness, equality and justice from a system that is based on greed…

Sir, - Des Geraghty's plea (Opinion, October 5th) for greater fairness, equality and justice from a system that is based on greed, corruption, exploitation, and oppression was truly amazing, even naive.

Geraghty has spent many years in the trade union movement in Ireland and surely must know the true and real nature of capitalism, yet this former "socialist" tries to convince us that capitalism, despite all the evidence to the contrary, offers a way forward for the Irish working class, and Irish society in general.

In today's so-called Celtic Tiger economy one person in three is living on or close to the poverty line, thousands upon thousands are on housing waiting lists, there are long delays for people waiting for hospital treatment - especially among those with medical cards - while unemployment, emigration and social exclusion are still facts of life. - Yours, etc.,

Charlie Walsh, Doneraile House, Ebury Bridge Road, London, SW1.