Sir, – Barry Walsh (July 29th) asks "Who will now expose the buffoons, chancers and spoofers for what they are?" Our political representatives are elected by us – the electorate. Why are we electing people who fail to command our respect? Are our politicians thick-skinned or do they not care about what is said about them?
In a democracy any citizen irrespective of educational achievements, leadership or associated political skills, experience or expertise in any specific area of work can be a parliamentarian. In Ireland it is possible to be elected as a political representative on a mere 2,000 or even less votes.
Maybe the time has come to run an introductory course on various aspects of being a parliamentarian prior to taking the seat in the Dáil. – Yours, etc,
MARY TOOMEY,
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
Blackrock, Co Dublin.