Madam, - Senator Mary White has joined with half of her Fianna Fáil colleagues at the Cabinet (according to Willie O'Dea at least) in her condemnation of the Aer Lingus decision to discontinue the Shannon to Heathrow flights (Letters, August 21st). Her misty-eyed reminiscences about Shannon airport preventing "us from being cut off from the rest of the world" is the latest tactic employed by those who hark back to a time when only Eastern bloc countries had more state control of their economies than Ireland.
I suppose it is no surprise that a FF icon like Seán Lemass would consider that his proudest achievement was the creation of a monopoly, which he and his colleagues protected by government manipulation and control of the market place for generations. Those days are slowly coming to an end. Shannon can no longer be guaranteed the obedience of Aer Lingus to keep itself commercially viable.
Fianna Fáil politicians are reverting to type in the face of economic realities. They are only concerned about their seats and not in providing good governance to the people of the western region.
Politicians fighting over which dying State monopoly needs resuscitating each month is not the way to grow and develop our regions. The western region needs a proper development plan, tax incentives and spending on world class infrastructure if it is to continue to be an attractive place for people to invest. - Yours, etc,
JOHN KENNY, Monkstown Valley, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Many of the perceived and actual problems of the various regions of this island would be solved if we had in place a modern public transport system such as has existed for many decades in most of our EU partner countries. If it were possible to travel easily and rapidly from Limerick or Galway to the airports in Cork or Dublin, the loss of the Shannon-Heathrow link would be less of a blow. If it were possible to travel in comfort and at speed from Donegal or Waterford to Dublin city centre, the urgent need for sub-speciality tertiary hospital services in those counties would diminish.
The failure of current and previous governments to invest as a priority in this basic requirement of a modern economy means that our grandchildren will still be struggling with regional development when the Celtic Tiger has long been consigned to the history books. - Yours, etc,
Dr ANDREW LEARY, Lismore, Co Waterford.