Madam, – May I offer two simple suggestions to help clear up this sorry matter. 1. The setting up of a travel office in Leinster House which would be responsible for making all travel arrangements. 2. The issuing of credit cards to all members to pay for their expenses.
This would ensure that: they don’t pay on the double for the government jet and business class flights; common standards are applied to all members; online records would be available showing who was spending what, when and where; credit limits would restrict excesses; and we would not be paying unvouched expenses to those who fail to show up.
This is not complicated: simply how things operated 20 years ago in a company in the west of Ireland. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS O’CALLAGHAN,
Bullock Park,
Carlow.
Madam, – In the course of a letter critical of Government policy (October 10th), Jerry Kiersey states, “We have been unable to get loans written off, unlike the Anglo Irish directors Mr Lenihan has covered with our taxes.” I would like to correct the record and make clear that the Minister for Finance has not used taxpayers’ money to write off loans made to former Anglo Irish Bank directors. Under the terms of the Relationship Framework with Anglo Irish Bank, the Minister must approve any change to the terms of loans to former directors of Anglo Irish Bank and to date, no proposal has been made to the Minister. The former directors continue to owe the full amount of their loans to the bank. – Yours, etc,
EOIN DORGAN,
Press Officer,
Department of Finance,
Merrion Street, Dublin 2.