Sir, - I know it can be difficult, indeed more than difficult, for former politicians turned columnists, to don the cloak of impartiality. Most I feel though do try, however feebly. Even Garret FitzGerald and Maire Geoghegan-Quinn make some effort. No such efforts, however, have been made by David Andrews judging by his article (June 11th).
There are many truths in his article. Yes, the nation's health service is in a bad state. Yes, it has suffered from chronic underfunding, 75 years of it. And yes, the Irish health service, or rather lack of it, will most certainly be an issue, and most likely the central issue, occupying politicians and voters minds alike, come the next general election.
However, the whole thrust of Mr Andrews's article is seriously flawed by his gross lack of impartiality. Having generalised about the state of the nation's health service, he fingers John Bruton's, brief Rainbow Coalition government as the culprit, which could have, but did not, rescue the crumbling edifice.
I have been a doctor for 23 years, the past 18 of them in general practice. For the first five years or thereabouts, things seemed to run relatively smoothly. Alas, one by one, the wheels first became rusty and then in turn each fell off. Today the only wheels left in the health service are to be found on the Minister's car or on hospital trolleys.
From March 1987 to the time of writing, a period of more than 14 years, Fianna Fail-led governments have been in power for almost 12 of them. John Bruton's government, lasting approximately 2 1/2 years, accounts for roughly 15 per cent of this period.
I agree with Mr Andrews that the Rainbow Coalition did nothing positive for the nation's healthcare system, it is absurd in the extreme, however, to apportion it with more than its fair share of the blame. Granted if the Rainbow Coalition had remained in power it may well have gone on to oversee the ongoing destruction of the healthcare system. That, however, was not to be its lot. That task was and is being vigorously pursued by successive Fianna Failled governments and their coalition partners. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Gerard Caffrey, The Curragh, Co Kildare.