Madam, - Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin's upbeat assessment of Sinn Féin's achievements in 2007 and his criticism of the Government's stance on gun crime ( Opinion & Analysis, October 12th) should not be allowed to go unchallenged.
In his view, "2007 has been a huge year for Sinn Féin and Irish republicans". Has it, indeed? In the 2007 general election, a huge majority of the Republic's citizens poured cold water on Sinn Féin's ambitions south of the Border. To say otherwise is to live in cloud-cuckoo land.
He goes on to say: "We need to prove that we can bring the same skill and determination to addressing social and economic challenges as we did in advancing the peace process." As I remember it, Sinn Féin had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the peace process, grudgingly accepting the inevitable when it had secured almost every concession it had demanded from the two governments.
He adds: "Aer Lingus - which should never have been privatised - is acting against the country's infrastructural interests." In what respect? Does Sinn Féin disapprove of the Aer Lingus decision to base some of its short-haul aircraft in Belfast?
He then has the gall to say: "There has been a complete failure to deal with serious drug and gun crime." As an experienced politician, Mr Ó Caoláin should understand that gardaí have great difficulty procuring evidence from people who are too terrified to testify in court for fear of reprisal - one such case being the cold-blooded killing of Garda Gerry McCabe.
Sinn Féin should examine its own ambiguous stance on crime before preaching to the rest of us. - Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY, Killester, Dublin 5.