Madam, – Your columnist Fintan O’Toole informed us (Opinion, July 28th) that billions for this year and next year have already been paid into the National Pension Reserve Fund. This is the fund that has already been raided to give corporate welfare to our banks. I hope that Mr O’Toole’s revelation will cause widespread concern and debate.
This decision undermines the credibility of a Government which seems intent on pursuing policies which will hurt the young, the sick and the elderly and spread the economic pain even more unfairly. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Joanna McMinn’s emotive appeal (July 30th) to continue spending taxpayers’ money on the umbrella of State-funded social organisations represented by her lobby group, Equality Rights Alliance, highlights the political difficulty in effecting the spending cuts that are so desperately needed right now.
No one wants to have to argue against funding organisations that “do good”, but the hard reality is that the Irish Government is dangerously close to bankruptcy.
Every one of the vested interests Ms McMinn hopes to garner funds for stands much more to lose in the event of the State going into EU-level or, God forbid, IMF-level, receivership.
Given the precarious state of public finances, it is quite simply irresponsible for any special interest group to argue against a specific spending cut, without clearly demonstrating how that savings can alternatively be achieved. – Yours, etc,