Sir, - The utterances of the Tánaiste, (and indeed of the Attorney General) on the issue of taxation and its relation to economic growth conform to their ideologically distorted view of the world. The fact that they have little empirical validation does not trouble the true blue ideologue.
For the record, most of the smaller countries (surely the only valid comparisons for a small country like Ireland) of the EU and indeed of western Europe have rates of unemployment which are the same as ours, or lower.
Some have dramatically lower rates than the US, the Netherlands being the most spectacular example. All have ratios of tax to GDP which are up to 25 per cent higher than in this country and they all have far more successful levels of indigenous enterprise than this country.
And of course they have public services, and public infrastructure which we mere Irish can only dream about.
But like their allies in academia, the PDs won't let mere facts get in the way of a sound ideology.
Then again, maybe its not ideology at all. Maybe it's just greed! - Yours, etc.,
Senator BRENDAN RYAN,
Seanad Éireann,
Baile Átha Cliath 2.