Madam, – I was horrified at the intemperate language used by David Begg at the rally held by the unions in Dublin on Friday. At first I thought I had heard incorrectly on RTÉ, but his stupid, dangerous, thoughtless and provocative words seem to have been confirmed by your paper (Home News, November 7th). He said, “You would as soon admit your grandfather was a member of the Black and Tans than say you are in the public service.” In his safe position – with a huge salary compared to most people and also probably a safe pension – I would have thought that at the very least he might have counselled sense and eschewed rabble-rousing words. Or should that be “rebel-rousing”? Obviously I hoped too much from yet another so-called leader.
He should apologise and hang his head in shame. – Yours, etc,
JONS CARLSSON,
Shankill,
Co Dublin.
Madam, – When the march for the Ictu national day of protest passed the Limerick Leaderoffice on Friday there were between 1,200 and 1,300 in it, depending on whether you count the accompanying children in prams or otherwise. Yet the media reported that more than 5,000 took part. Presumably the figures for the rest of the country were similarly exaggerated?
This unfortunately is now typical of the exaggerated spin being voiced by Siptu, Ibec and others on behalf of their respective vested interests. This will not solve any of our problems, but will only make matters worse by further dividing our society.
What the country needs now is leadership with integrity and a sense of fair play, two concepts which seem to have grown dim at the time of the birth of the Celtic Tiger. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL WALLACE,
Ashbrook Park,
Limerick.
Madam, – Mary Harney may be correct in saying that marching will not rid us of the economic crisis we’re in (Front Page, November 7th), but marching may help us to get rid of her and therein lies part of the solution to the crisis. – Yours, etc,
FRANK BARR,
Glasnevin Woods,
Ballyboggan Road,
Dublin 11.