Sir, - I was intrigued to see a letter from two Fianna Fail candidates in the local elections (February 11th) which appeared to set out an anti-sleaze platform within that party and called for an extraordinary Ard Fheis "to express revulsion at recent revelations".
That's all very well, but as a tax payer and an individual active in community affairs I am more interested in acts of explanation than acts of expiation.
For anyone in Fianna Fail to present themselves credibly as anti-sleaze requires a commitment to lift the veil on the past, not draw it over the past. Like charity, reform begins at home.
I have a suggestion to make to each Fianna Fail local election candidate genuinely anxious to rid their party of its sleaze associations. As relevant, they could each assume the mission of trying to shed light on whatever unsolved mysteries are lying around at local level, detritus from the Haughey era.
For example, the Fianna Fail candidates in the Blackrock electoral area might adapt the task of interpreting to us the background to the sale and resale of Carysfort College. I campaigned to keep Carysfort in education and am very glad that it is now again used as an educational facility. I just do not understand why it cost the taxpayer so much.
I realise that Mr Haughey is unlikely to share his recollections on Carysfort, as on all other unsolved mysteries, but other Ministers of the day, such as the present Taoiseach and Ms O'Rourke presumably have some recall of such decisions and would be only too happy to share their memories with anti-sleaze candidates, with a view to purging the Fianna Fail party of its unhappy recent past. - Yours, etc., Marian White,
Labour candidate, Blackrock Electoral Area, Lakelands Close, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.