Sir, - Fintan O'Toole is to be applauded for his continuing exposure of the contradictions and deceptions of that most hypocritical of Irish political parties, the Progressive Democrats. I happened to be in the visitors' gallery of the Dail on the night that Mary Harney outlined the party's new tax "reform" proposals. On the order paper for the day (May 1st) there were no fewer than 12 questions to the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, from PD TDs, all implicitly critical of Government failure to address an array of pressing social issues: e.g. conditions in mental hospitals; phased release of psychiatric patients into the community; inadequacy of treatment facilities for drug addiction; procedures for validation of incidences of child abuse (those latter two from Michael McDowell, he of the "avoid the property tax" pamphlet); high turnover of social workers.
The PDs must be challenged, over and over again, whenever they feign concern over such issues, to explain how they propose that such urgent problems be alleviated other than through increases in public expenditure - arising from the opening of new, and the upgrading of existing facilities, and the hiring of additional qualified personnel to staff them - rather than the savage cutbacks in social services which would, of necessity follow any thorough implementation of PD taxation policy.
The PDs should not be allowed any longer to play this confidence trick of combining a right wing economic programme with the rhetoric of a compassionate social conscience. If they wish to advocate Newt Gingrich economics they ought to have the honesty and the fortitude to come out of the closet and advocate Newt Gingrich social policy as well. The media in general have been too easy with Ms Harney as she alternatively dons the dress of Margaret Thatcher and Barbara Castle, depending upon her audience and her choice of subject. She and her party need to be "outed" and revealed as the thorough New Rightists that they are, and hats off to Fintan O'Toole for taking the lead.
Finally, in line with the PDs oft repeated cries for transparency and honesty in Irish public life, I would like to suggest that the party consider re christening themselves in a way that would better express their true selves to the electorate. I can not decide which new appellation would suit them the better: the Regressive Plutocrats; or the Progressive Hypocrites? - Yours, etc.,
Ashtown,
Dublin 7.