Madam, - Let Finian McGrath TD (July 22nd) be reassured: few ordinary voters think our TDs and senators lie around drinking cocktails on their 11-week break. Most have enough cop-on to realise our representatives work in their constituencies on their break. The problem, however, is that our politicians are not legislating and debating important national issues.
Instead, they tend to their "home patch". That is the role of county councillors. Our higher-paid national politicians should be doing higher-status work, ie running the country, not just re-running for the next election. - Le meas,
Dr MAIT Ó FAOLÁIN,
Iona Villas,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.
Madam, - Finian McGrath has some hard neck to justify the Dáil not sitting for 11 weeks.
Firstly, the main role of a TD is meant to be to legislate, and it's not possible to do that when the Dáil is not sitting, although even when it does sit the record of our precious TDs is nothing to boast about. Most of the "work" Deputy McGrath claims TDs are doing for their constituents is merely continuing the proud Irish tradition of cronyism.
There is nothing a TD can get for a member of the public that that same member of the public can't get for themselves - even if it requires some effort on their part. If anyone knows of a TD obtaining something for a constituent that they weren't legally entitled to anyway, that TD and the constituent should be reported to the gardaí for corruption.
Secondly, the important aspect about the Dáil not sitting is that the longer it does not sit the longer it is before any legislative action is taken to tackle any of the problems Ireland now faces.
Now that the money provided by the Celtic Tiger has been squandered by the Government, which is propped up by Deputy McGrath, actual, real decisions need to be taken.
But at the moment, because TDs are off on holiday, no action is being taken to provide gardaí with the powers and resources they need to tackle gun crime, no action is being taken to reduce the tax burden on the private businesses which bankroll the excessive waste in the public sector, no action is being taken to ensure that the elderly and those with serious illnesses can rest assured they can still afford health cover because the actual health service has been run into the ground, no action is being taken to tackle the lack of opportunity for first-time home buyers, etc, etc, etc.
So come October, when Finian McGrath is looking back over the previous 11 weeks, it'll be interesting to see what he has actually managed to achieve with the Dáil not sitting and what contribution he, or any other TD, has made to tackling any of the above issues. - Yours, etc,
DESMOND FITZGERALD,
Canary Wharf,
London.