Sir, - With the eyes of the media focused on the restrictions placed on freedom of speech by some political parties recently, many people missed other efforts to abuse taxpayers and undermine democracy in our country.
One was the large increase in politicians' allowances, expenses, and pensions after their large pay rise on the day of the Dβil Christmas recess last year. This digging deeper into the taxpayers' pockets was also tried in the latest electoral Bill in which almost all the political parties in the Dβil decided they should be allowed to use more public money to fund private political campaigns. This is not democracy but cliptocracy
Another diminuation of democracy took place when Noel Dempsey's Waste Management Bill gave power to un-elected county managers to over-ride and dictate to county councils on matters of waste management and the placement of incinerators. Local democracy itself is going up in smoke with this Bill.
To top it all off, Brian Cowen is doing nice work setting up the forum to discuss the rejection of the Treaty of Nice. This action is to be castigated by mostly Oireachtas party members who almost all called for a Yes vote. Surely forum "air time" should be allocated to each side in proportion to the vote each side received in the referendum, or divided equally.
Since the Treaty of Nice referendum, the facade of democracy and taxpayer accountability has be lifted away. To the journalists who have highlighted this I say thanks, and to the resident politicians of the Dβil, in the next election, I will say no thanks. - Yours, etc.,
Hermann Pat Kelly, Corrig Avenue, D·n Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.