Sir, - Nurses may go on strike, we can have blue flus, the wheels of transport can grind to a halt, but there is one sector of society which must sit and wait for the crumbs to fall from their master's table. I refer of course to those in receipt of social welfare payments. Any increase in this instance is not in the hundreds, not in the tens, no, we are talking in single figures.
Recently Mairin Quill implied that this Government did not intend raising the OAP rate to £100 until the year 2002. I sincerely hope she is wrong. A great many current senior citizens were those who were asked to "tighten their belts", and it is becoming apparent that they did this to fund the frauds and flamboyant life styles of our corrupt leaders.
Senior citizens must not be asked to wait until the year 2002 for this raise. It would be a gesture of good-will by the Minister to return some of the money, and what is more, the rise should date from the start of the millennium.
The Government has only itself to blame for all this unrest. They have forgotten one simple fundamental fact of life: the best teacher is example. - Yours, etc.,
M Hegarty, Silversprings, Cork.