Sir, - What a pleasant surprise to receive this morning from Telecom Eireann a cheque for £156 "in recognition of the contribution made to the Company by pensioners during their service". Very wisely, in view of the amount involved, it came by registered post. This represents the not inconsiderable sum of £5 for each of my 31 years in Telecommunications in P and T and Telecom Eireann. What a pity that this amount is insufficient to cover the minimum investment of £250 in the Telecom share offer.
One must acknowledge with gratitude the obvious input by Mr Ray MacSharry, whose letter accompanied the cheque and who is, of course, renowned for his generosity. One hopes that the rewards for his immense contribution to Telecom Eireann will be equally generous.
Nor should we pensioners forget the Herculean efforts of the unions on behalf of their retired members during the protracted negotiations leading to the award of free shares to existing employees. The fact that they did not achieve any success on our behalf should not trouble their consciences as we know they did their best! -Yours, etc., James Finnegan,
Finglas, Dublin 11.