Madam, - How generous of RTÉ to allow themselves to be bullied into giving Beverley Flynn a discount of €1.5 million, which, of course, will have to be paid for by TV licence holders.
I think it was a conscientious and patriotic Mayo man who thought out a remedy for this sort of behaviour.
Michael Davitt was one of the founders of the Plan of Campaign in Parnellite times. The small over-taxed tenant farmers of Mayo and other parts of Ireland were organised to pay their just rent into a Plan of Campaign fund.
This was to be held in a bank, (probably Daniel O'Connell's Bank of Ireland) until a suitable agreement between themselves and the ruthless, arrogant landlords could be arranged.
I wonder could something similar be planned to ensure that the man in the street isn't punished and plundered to pay for Bev's shortfall. An RTÉ TV licence holder could put all or part of his fee into a fund. When the receipts showed that there was €1.5 million in the kitty, an agreement could perhaps be reached that there would be no gazumping of the price of the TV licence for a year or two.
Naming the fund after Michael Davitt might help us to remember that not all Mayo people are crass acts. - Yours, etc,
EAMON J HAYES, Portumna, Co Galway.
Madam, - To paraphrase that self-congratulatory boast by our national broadcaster: "RTÉ - supporting the farce!" - Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY, Beacon Hill, Dalkey, Co Dublin.