Madam, - It beggars belief that Bertie Ahern has the gall to lay any of the credit for the Celtic Tiger at the feet of Charles Haughey ("Taoiseach praises Haughey's policies", The Irish Times, July 11th).
If anyone deserves such praise it is Alan Dukes. Fine Gael deserves some credit for backing the Tallaght strategy and, given the price the party paid for it, I don't think it is asking too much for serious political commentators to get over their immature aversion to praising anything initiated by Fine Gael and give the party some credit.
Even Ray MacSharry, in his book on Celtic Tiger, had the decency to acknowledge the role of the Tallaght strategy.
While giving credit for the Celtic Tiger, those same commentators might give some thought to who was responsible for the mess Ireland was in during the 1980s. Jack Lynch's budget and Haughey's role in government after 1979 should receive their share of the blame.
While Jack Lynch was undoubtedly an honest man, such sentiment cannot be allowed to lessen his place in almost bankrupting the State. - Yours, etc,
DESMOND FITZGERALD, Canary Wharf, London E14.