Sir, - The Editorial in last Monday's edition of The Irish Times was unique for its blatantly unbalanced presentation. It painted an extraordinarily distorted picture of the current state of the Irish economy. It chose to ignore the very real progress that has been made by the Government to enhance public services. No reference was made to the significant improvements in the standard of living.
Far from being "trapped in a more leisurely age", the Government has worked tirelessly to reverse the trends caused by the weak management of the nation under the previous administration. Its achievements in the three years since it took office far outweigh those of its predecessor.
Unemployment stands at a record low of 4.4 per cent. According to the latest CSO Household Survey, about 81,000 people classify themselves as being unemployed, while nearly 1.6 million people are at work in the Irish economy. Irish people now enjoy the lowest tax rates in Europe. Over the past three budgets this Government has reduced the higher and standard rates of tax by 4 per cent. GNP per capita is now well over £14,000.
Your Editorial fails to either recognise or give honest acknowledgment to the fact that investment in health has increased by 56 per cent over the past three years. £23.5 million alone has been made available this year to address waiting-lists. In 1995, John Bruton's government spent a mere £8 million on waitinglists. The budgetary allocation in this area was in fact initially reduced by the Rainbow Government to £7 million the following year, and was only increased in response to pressure from Fianna Fail.
When the Rainbow Government took office there were 23,835 people on waiting lists. By September 1996 that figure had risen by 32 per cent to 31,519. This year the waiting-list figure decreased by 2,485 from January to March and by 2,519 from March to date. Government work to further reduce waiting lists continues. Crime is another issue which this Government has moved decisively to address. It has overseen an increase in the strength of the Garda Siochana from 10,800 to 11,458 and is on target to reach the planned strength of 12,000 by the year 2002. Major improvements in Garda equipment since 1997 have contributed significantly to reducing crime by 21 per cent over the past three years.
A budget of £671.6 million has been made available to the Garda for 2000 - a 42 per cent increase on the 1997 allocation. Proposals for further improvements in Garda equipment, including the provision of a second helicopter, are at an advanced stage.
Investment in our national roads has increased by 77 per cent since 1997. £4.4 billion will be invested in the network under the National Development Plan. Record investment in non-national roads with total Exchequer funding of £269 million represents an increase of 51 per cent since 1997.
An intensive drive is under way to improve water quality. Investment in this area in 1999 was up 53 per cent.
In addition to unprecedented improvements in public service funding, this Government is fully committed through the SMI process to improving the quality of public administration. Indeed, the reality of modern Irish public administration and Irish governments is unjustly served by the caricature presented by your Editorial writer.
Is it not time that the paper which likes to style itself as a "paper of record" showed just a modicum of balance? - Yours, etc.,
Dick Roche TD, Dail Eireann, Dublin 2.