Madam, - If the agreement on the European Constitution last June was the high point of Bertie Ahern's premiership, his handling of the Aer Lingus issue must go down as the nadir.
Mr Ahern asserts boldly that he will not be forced into decisions, yet one can't help noticing that until the airline's three top managers announced their resignations last Tuesday, there was no mention of December as a date for deciding on the airline's future; hitherto, it was "a matter of weeks" or similar. Once more, it becomes evident that the swift application of pitchfork to buttocks is the only way to force movement or decisions on aviation issues.
Why is it, in a country so dependant on aviation, that we have so little understanding of its importance? The Taoiseach's Dáil attacks on the Aer Lingus management team were inappropriate and unfair. Does he not realise that part of the reason for Aer Lingus's success over the past three years is that Ryanair's fraught relationship with Aer Rianta kept it from expanding at Dublin? The cost-cutting and increased efficiencies sought by the airline are not a luxury, but a necessity in an extremely competitive environment.
Given the icy relationship between Mr Michael O'Leary and the Taoiseach, one can hardly believe that he would prefer to see Ryanair gain the upper hand over Aer Lingus on routes out of Dublin. Yet he persists in stating that the Aer Lingus management was serious about the management buy-out when it is clear to most people that it was the only way to force the Government into making a decision.
The blame for this fiasco, the full effect of which we may not know for some time to come, must fall squarely on the Taoiseach. The sooner he overcomes his new-found interest in a dead ideology and deals with the realities of aviation, the sooner aviation will be able to make its optimum contribution to the economy. Having seen his attitude towards aviation since he became Taoiseach, I have no confidence in his willingness to allow this to happen. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN FITZPATRICK, St Peter, Jersey.
Madam, - The late Ben Dunne, when complimented for his success, was quoted as saying: "It is not how good I am, it is how bad the others are". Could this also apply to the departing "three wise men" from Aer Lingus - not so much how good they are as how bad their predecessors were? And is Aer Lingus heading back to the bad old days again? - Yours, etc.,
PADDY DUGGAN, Rosehill, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Madam, - As I listened to the clips of the Dáil debate on the Aer Lingus executives' resignation on RTÉ's lunchtime news it seemed to me that, as the Taoiseach lauded the unions' contribution to that company's regeneration, his accent became distinctly more "Dublin working-class". This no doubt underscores his new-found socialism.
Can we now expect a Belfast "blás" as he also rediscovers his republican roots? In the immortal words of Dustin the Turkey, go on you good thing! - Yours, etc.,
SEÁN SCULLY, Fahanalooscane, Co Cork.