Madam, - The Government's mantra of "competition" sounds very laudable, until one sees the results.
In the US, where competition is exalted, there are few shops in small towns. "Competition", in the shape of WallMart or some other giant chain-store, has blown away all competitors. The "mall" is sited usually on a "green-field" site, three or four miles from town. Few Americans walk.
Just look around you in your own town. It's all happening here. The big stores move in, the small shops close down. Then bigger, usually foreign stores move in and it goes on and on, until as in all competitions, there is just one winner. And it is not the shopper.
When are we Irish going to wake up? "Competition" suits only the fat cats.
The only way to fight this is price control. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL O'REGAN,
Oliver Plunkett Street,
Bandon,
Co Cork.