Madam, – Jimmy Devins TD claims that those who characterise his resignation of the Fianna Fáil whip as “meaningless” fail to recognise his belief in “the ideals of Fianna Fáil” (Opinion, August 8th).
This statement raises an obvious question: what ideals? Big-tent office-seeking pragmatism at all costs; inertia and complacency fostered by a don’t-rock-the-boat mentality; crony capitalism; the “shur it’ll be grand” attitude that resulted in such gross fiscal irresponsibility? Whichever part(s) of this sorry litany Mr Devins may subscribe to, his decision to resign the whip at least clearly indicates his belief in one time-honoured Fianna Fáil tradition: that some members of that party seem to hold up as an “ideal”: adherence to a shortsighted, parish-pumping localism that flies in the face of the principles of rationality, common sense and good governance.
On this basis alone the Fianna Fáil party would appear to be Mr Devins’s natural political home; good thing then that he didn’t also see fit to resign his party membership as part of this “protest”. – Yours, etc,