Madam, - The benefits of decentralisation to the national economy were well-known as far back as 1979, when I was at college, and probably before then.
So it is with some annoyance that I read the bleatings of civil servants over the matter. Many families in Ireland have had to put up with moving for work purposes and many people have worked abroad at some time. It is not clear why the some of the best paid and most pampered people in the workforce feel they are exempt from even small moves within the country.
It is time for civil servants to step up to the mark. Private sector taxpayers are not only paying civil servants over the odds in wages, but also in benefits and in funding generous pension schemes.
For many years senior civil servants have been able to apply for jobs in the private sector. With benchmarking, it is now time that the favour was returned. If civil servants are unwilling to take up well-paid jobs in the regions, let these jobs be opened up to well qualified people like me who would be more than happy to oblige Mr McCreevy. - Yours, etc.,
CADOGAN ENRIGHT, The Burrow, Portrane, Co Dublin.