Sir, - I am concerned at the Government's decision to hold a referendum on Cabinet confidentiality on the same day as the presidential election. It must surely have been obvious that the hype and media babble of the presidential election would completely overshadow the far more important issue of Cabinet confidentiality.
Recent events in the political arena will no doubt sway people into supporting a move to reverse the measures relating to Cabinet confidentiality imposed during the Beef Tribunal. While this will be viewed as a positive development by many, the restrictions that it places on our most senior public representatives should be seriously considered. If the details of Cabinet meetings are to be disclosed in any form to the general public, Ministers will be much more concerned with the reaction of interest groups, lobbyists and the media than with what is good for the nation as a whole.
I do not doubt that in the past the shield of Cabinet confidentiality has been abused by some of our elected representatives, but in the end our votes are our trust, and we place that trust in those for whom we vote. If that trust is not good enough, the problems with our system are far more wide reaching than most of us imagine. - Yours, etc.,
Portland Street North, Dublin 1.