Sir, – My goodness, a politician speaking the unvarnished truth! What is the country coming to? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While in no way a fan of our Taoiseach, I find myself agreeing in part with his assessment of our present financial disaster (Front page, January 27th). I too feel that greed from many “common” people caused their own problems. Yes, the banks, large property developers and weak politicians (both in the cabinet and in opposition) have to take most of the blame. That does not take from the fact that a lot of people forgot we are only a very small island and we could not continue selling it to ourselves.
Of course there are innocent people who lost a lot – or all they had – through no fault of their own; they’re the ones for whom I feel very sorry. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – For the best part of a year now, I’ve been defending the Government’s austerity plans at the dinner table, because I see them as a necessary evil. I’ve gone so far as to offer the opinion that I did benefit indirectly from the Celtic Tiger bubble economy, because the taxes raised helped to build and improve infrastructure, schools and hospitals, and reduce personal taxation. Like many people I did not engage in wild, credit-funded spending. I cut my cloth, so to speak, and lived sensibly. I refused to be drawn into the “over-priced second home on an easily obtained mortgage” con-trick. I didn’t upgrade the family car every two years – it’s now six years old and I bought it second hand.
So, why has Enda Kenny accused me and those like me of ruining the country? Not only that, he says it on the world stage in Davos.
While I still understand the need for austerity, I feel more than a little let down by the man who is supposed to be showing leadership and giving encouragement to the people who must suffer the hardships and stay the course, while he steers the ship to calmer waters. People like me voted this Government in so that we might be able to restore our country and our pride – Yours, etc,