Madam, - It is inconceivable that Micheál Martin did not know of the theft of money from the elderly over the past four years.
He alleges that he missed part of a meeting where it was discussed. As a member of a number of clubs for many years I know it is standard practice to circulate the agenda for any meeting in advance to those due to take part. It would be normal for those attending to read the agenda in order to prepare for the meeting.
After each meeting the minutes are circulated to the same personnel. Therefore Mr Martin could not have avoided knowing what had gone on in the meeting unless he had read neither agenda nor minutes - which would be very negligent for a a Minister. - Yours, etc.,
BRIAN O'SULLIVAN, Sutton Park, Dublin 13.
Madam, - I find it ironic that the person most identified with the Civil Service modernisation agenda through his pioneering work on the introduction of a performance management and development system (PMDS) should now find himself shafted by the Government he so ably served. Michael Kelly is the kind of manager any organisation should be happy to have. The Civil Service has been lucky to have a person of his calibre, integrity and intelligence who was open, flexible and transparent in his dealings - the prototype of a modern civil servant and a champion of the modernisation the Government contends it wishes to achieve. Michael Kelly is no Sir Humphrey, but his disgraceful treatment by his political masters, simply because of political expediency, sends a very clear signal to civil servants. Sir Humphrey would never have been as flexible, and Mr Kelly's treatment will create more Sir Humphreys watching their backs, minuting all meetings, communicating through memos and reintroducing a higher level of wariness of politicians, their agendas and their trustworthiness.
Politicians need to realise that Civil Servants are first and foremost citizens of the state, people in their own right, and not simply pawns to be decentralised or scapegoated for political expediency. Modernisation and change agendas cannot be achieved without trust. No civil servant will accept the uncertainty that goes change where there is concern that political self-interest can cause Government support suddenly to be withdrawn. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL MAC SWEENEY, St Jarlath Road, Cabra, Dublin 7.