Sir, – Further to the publication of the recent Irish Times/MRBI poll which shows the Labour Party at a mere 6 per cent, there has been much discussion of this result being caused by the party betraying its voters and breaking its promises (Home News, October 2nd). While this may be a core reason for its continuing decline in popularity, I believe it is the party's total disengagement from issues which are of immediate concern to the electorate that accounts for the its impending demise.
This is best illustrated by the party’s attempts over the past few days to grab headlines with two new policies: to make Ireland tobacco-free by 2025 and to give medical cards to all children under five years old.
The idea that the children of millionaires should automatically have medical cards while seriously ill people in poor circumstances still have to endure long delays and tortuous bureaucracy before getting their cards or being refused, is an idea that is far removed from the priorities of the average citizen.
Making Ireland tobacco-free by 2025 must surely be seen as a pipe-dream conjured up by a group of politicians who are unaware of the suffering, starvation and fear of the cold which envelopes large sections of our population right here and now. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O’FLANAGAN,
Emmet Road,
Kilmainham,
Dublin 6.