Sir, – Sinéad O’Sullivan queries Patrick Collison’s “democratic mandate” and criticises his attempt to help redirect the future of Europe’s political economy. (“Europe does not need Patrick Collison to `fix’ it”, Opinion, September 3rd).
One would think citizenship is a sufficient mandate to offer an opinion on Europe’s ills. When Collison’s successes in commerce and in providing employment opportunities are taken into account, perhaps, even if he does not have a “mandate” sufficient for The Irish Times, he is in a good position to offer opinions on Europe’s political economy, its ills and to suggest remedies.
A liberal democrat might debate the opinions offered rather than the contrived requirement of mandates. Otherwise, opinions from well-intentioned individuals can be strangled before birth. I hope Collison is not inhibited or prohibited from offering his opinions on matters that interest him in the future: surely not!
Indeed, pot and kettle come to mind if a mandate is a requirement for publishing an opinion. – Yours, etc,
READ MORE
FRANK FAUGHNAN,
Newbridge,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – Reading Sinead O’Sullivan’s article on Patrick Collison and the Rhine Group, I fundamentally disagree with the sentiment that “Patrick Collison has no democratic or institutional mandate, and yet here he is attempting to help redirect the future of Europe’s political economy”.
Our TDs and Ministers (who have a democratic mandate, and a duty to serve our citizens), whether domestically or within Europe, are pathetically failing to do anything but “kick the can down the road”. Their only concern seems to be being re-elected and rising to political greatness within their party (for those affiliated with political parties).
Over the past decade, since Ireland fully recovered from the economic crash, successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael led governments have failed to grasp the nettle and make tough and unpleasant political decisions to invest properly in infrastructure, leading to continuing and burgeoning crises in housing, health, transport, education, defence, climate, utilities and pretty much any other ministry you care to mention.
If any employee at Stripe looked after their responsibility as badly as our “democratically elected” officials (and in many cases, our senior civil servants who reflect “tone from the top”), they’d be fired without argument. At least Collison is trying to help in whatever way he can, rather than “patching it with sticking plaster” and praying it won’t go pear-shaped “on my watch”. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD NEALON,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
