Sir, - In his excellent column of January 22nd, Fintan O'Toole makes the point that EU Commissioner Padraig Flynn has lost touch with the prevailing mood of the Irish people.
While Mr Flynn's performance can be seen as an extreme example, the point is no less true of all our politicians. A clear indication of how detached they are from reality is their reaction to the various tribunals. They endlessly repeat the mantra: "Tribunals cost too much money. They will deter `good' people from becoming involved in politics. People are bored with them." This translates as: "Stop digging in case the truth comes out."
Because of scandal and corruption the entire body politic is totally discredited. As a young man in the Late Late Show audience remarked, "Politicians are seen as criminals without balaclavas."
Politicians have it in their power to change this situation, but that will never happen unless they first face the fact that their profession is corrupt to a lesser degree by deed and to a greater degree by the omission of almost any serious condemnation of what is going on.
Before it is too late they must stand back from the trees and look at the wood: it's on fire. - Yours, etc., Anthony Sheridan,
Carraig Eoin, Cobh, Co Cork.