Sir, – It now appears as if the Government has “U-turned” again and is, at last, aiming to address the issue of public service allowances. At least some of these are acknowledged as no longer tenable by public service unions.
Perhaps now the Government will turn its attention to the allowances that most annoy the general public, namely those of public representatives themselves.
They qualify for very generous, and untaxed, mileage allowances or other travel expenses to/from their constituencies. They receive outrageously generous unvouched expenses, also untaxed. The idea that some TDs in the Dublin area receive an allowance to turn up and sign on for work in the Dáil is simply unsustainable. To most people struggling on a daily basis these allowances are simply not acceptable.
The time is long overdue when our political leaders should set the example so that the rest of us might at least understand the really difficult situation we are all in. If they are not willing to do so, then perhaps it is finally time for the “docile” Irish to take to the streets and demonstrate that the pain really does have to be taken fairly and with equality. – Yours, etc,