Sir, - Much of the recent discussion in your newspaper about the government's proposals for electoral reform has missed the point, in my view. Mr Noel Dempsey's desire to ensure that parliamentarians are, in the first instance, national legislators, is to be commended. However, all his concerns about the time spent by TDs on constituency work and parochial politics could be alleviated if a sufficiently powerful local government system were in operation.
Local councillors are not significant enough in many people's minds to cop with their local problems. Because unelected civil servants such as county and city managers are too powerful, and control the running of that strata of government, county councillors are seen as politically impotent by many of their constituents, who thus turn to their TDs.
If local politicians were given the power to resolve people's local difficulties, our TDs would not be swamped by so much constituency work.
The proposals to change the entire national electoral system should be replaced by plans to radically overhaul local government in this country and decentralise enough power to our local authorities to allow TDs concentrate on the national issues of the day and on legislation. - Yours, etc.,
Owen G. O'Shea, Glen Ellen, Milltown, Co Kerry.