Sir, - Deputy Harney has at least done us the favour of reminding us of the perils attaching to political extremism and has given us what is perhaps a timely reminder of the shallowness of her thinking in the matter of the management of the nation's affairs. Let us firstly agree that five million people living on one of Europe's more sparsely populated islands face nothing on the scale of environmental problems confronting the inhabitants of the mainland. We can afford to be profligate with water, doubly so when a significant portion of our population can readily source their own wholesome supplies. It is an unfortunate fact that these persons are required to fund the cost of such sources and at least her colleague Deputy Molloy had the wit to take account of this in his particular excursion into "Auction Politics".
In the matter of water supplies there is therefore an inequity as between urban and rural dwellers and the costs borne by each. Let us, therefore, reconsider the cost of serving rural areas with such as electricity, telecommunications, roads, health care, policing, public transport and so on. It is undeniable that urban dwellers have for many years since borne the cost of a common purse in these respects, yielding constantly to the greater cost of serving remote areas.
For the most part, our taxation system has provided the medium whereby this sharing is undertaken, even in the case of the state utility corporations through diminished dividends and increased subventions, as applicable. Deputy Harney must surely address the question as to why there should be such a song and dance about water. Why not simply absorb its cost into the taxation system? There may indeed be a case for assistance to those providing their own supplies. There is, however, no particular case for creating (or rather re creating) yet another tax collection system, just so that urban dwellers can be seen to share the unhappiness of their rural cousins. Such is the stuff of nonsense and the antithesis of Progressive Democrat thinking.
But then, is that perhaps the rub? Deputy Harney is very quick to equate her estimate of the cost of water provision with "two pence on the rate of income tax" as if this was the stuff of fiscal catastrophe. Our near neighbours spent 17 years focused upon the reduction of income tax rates to the exclusion of almost all other considerations and, as any returning emigrant can tell you, our hills are greener, if only slightly so. Can we now conclude that Deputy Harney's vision of the future is a world where the rate of income tax is the arbiter of all things? Is this her promise to us? Or is she merely seeking to piggy back upon the successes of the Liberal Democrats?
Deputy Harney's political ineptitude in this instance, coming close to ruling out any durable arrangement with Fianna Fail after the next General Election, will not be lost on the electorate. Their sophistication in the application of our wonderful electoral system will surely ensure a transfer of support to Deputy Ahern's candidates in circumstances in which - nothing short of a miracle will see Deputy Harney into the next cabinet. Such was not altogether unknown in the past. However, the most recent practitioner to visit us, tended rather to walk on the stuff than to blather oul' nonsense about it. - Yours, etc.,
Cherbury Park Road,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.