Sir, - May I say how touched I am that our elite politicians Ahern, Harney, McCreevy and Bruton are having difficulties understanding the public outcry that O'Flaherty and Lowry should be given a second chance. By no means are the public unreasonable; our leaders are simply out of touch.
The little people who pay taxes and the bloated salaries of these "public representatives of the people" are the very ones who are never given a second chance. Our civic system is fundamentally unfair. Consider: the mortgage defaulter may not only have his home pulled from under him, but will also be blacklisted by our financial institutions; the tenant who falls behind in one monthly payment after 20 years has no recourse to lawful protection; the man or woman once convicted of a criminal offence may never have the record cleared. And, of course, the tax man hunts the little fish while giving the big ones the freedom of the ocean.
Ireland has an elitist culture of "no second chances for the little people". Our dear leaders should, at the very least, stop leeching us, get real or get out. - Yours, etc.,
Ciaran Walsh, Kincora Drive, Clontarf, Dublin 3.