Sir, – The main difference between the civil service of TK Whitaker’s era and today is engagement with the public.
Today, the civil service has retreated from public discussion leaving this entirely to politicians. But politicians are poorly placed to lead policy discussions towards a national consensus because of the unavoidably partisan nature of their trade.
It would be enriching if we could find a space for more governmental, but nonpartisan voices to supplement the back and forth between political parties. Impartiality should not mean disengagement.
– Yours, etc,
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GAV ROCHE
Dublin 2.