Madam, - Congratulations to Diarmaid Mac Aonghusa (September 8th) for his robust and articulate response to my earlier criticisms of his support for government involvement in semi-state companies such as Aer Lingus.
Mr Mac Aonghusa is entirely correct in pointing out that pension deficits are not exclusive to the public sector. Unfortunately, he fails to understand the difference between pension deficits in the public and private sectors.
Pension shortfalls in the private sector are an internal matter for the staff and management of such companies. However, public sector pension deficits are a problem for the taxpayer. Once again I reiterate my original question which Mr Mac Aonghusa failed to answer: Why should the average man on the street be asked to fund the financial mismanagement of semi-State dinosaurs?
Due to rising fuel costs and the cyclical nature of the airline industry it is inevitable that Aer Lingus will in the future face difficult times. Does Mr Mac Aonghusa suggest that the Government should have waited until Aer Lingus was at a low ebb before offloading it? Or does he suggest diverting taxpayers' money away from essential services to prop up an ailing Aer Lingus if that is what is required at some future point?
Mr Mac Aonghusa's support for government investment in semi-State bodies came on the very same day that another one of these dinosaurs, the ESB, announced a 19.7 per cent price increase to consumers. This is the same ESB which last year paid its chief executive, Pádraig McManus, a salary package of €478,000. This is the same ESB where employees have benefited enormously from concessions made in the partnership process. Again, every one of these concessions and wage increases has been made possible by the private sector.
Why do companies such as Ryanair absorb rising fuel costs whereas the first instinct of the semi-state sector is to raise prices?
Mr Mac Aonghusa accuses me of being "wedded to an ideology". In this instance he is entirely correct. I unashamedly believe that one sector of the workforce should not be asked to subsidise another sector. This is sadly the circumstances that the private sector taxpayer currently has to endure.
Privatisation of semi-state dinosaurs is the only remedy for this social injustice. - Yours, etc,
BRIAN GEOGHEGAN,
Temple Manor Grove,
Walkinstown,
Dublin 12.