Sir, – Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee, Fianna Fáil's justice spokeswoman in the Seanad, has acknowledged using derogatory terms such as "knacker" and "pikey" and has graciously offered to meet representatives of the Travelling community to apologise ("Fianna Fáil Senator willing to meet Travellers after derogatory tweets", News, November 13th).
Senator Clifford Lee is, naturally, “extremely sorry” and tells us that these outbursts happened long before she was involved in electoral politics, and in no way reflect her true attitude to minority issues and what she has said and done since she was in a position to influence things.
I do not find this compelling.
What Senator Clifford Lee has said and done since she became involved in electoral politics must be seen against her desire to climb that greasy pole. What she said and did before she was in that arena is, I would suggest, a far better reflection of her true attitude. – Yours, etc,
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PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines, Dublin 6.
Sir, – Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee is quoted as saying: “You know, I’ve apologised and I am extremely sorry from the bottom of my heart but I guess I can do no more than that.”
Actually, there is something more she can do. Stand down as Fianna Fáil’s byelection candidate. – Yours, etc,
MARY RYAN,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – Seriously? Where do we get them? Can’t Fianna Fáil do better than this? – Yours, etc,
ANNE CULLEN,
Dublin 3.