Sir, - Principles are important, slogans are not. "I will never vote for service charges" is a slogan, not a principle, and the sooner some Dublin city councillors understand the difference, the better. Whether the money to implement changes and to achieve results comes from service charges or central funds is immaterial. We, the taxpayers, provide the money either way.
If we want the services provided by the Corporation we must be willing to provide the money. For example, there is little point in complaining about the condition of the Bull Island if we are not willing to pay for its upkeep. Suggestions that the £13 million required for the implementation of the new waste management system be obtained by cutting existing services are impractical. Which service is so perfect as to allow for cuts?
Perhaps it is already too late. Perhaps there is no longer a chance of averting the suspension of the city council. If that is so, I suggest that we, the voters, the citizens of Dublin, remember who the councillors were who deprived us of our democratic right to have a say in the governing of our city.
At the next elections, both local and national, let us make our displeasure felt by refusing to vote for candidates who could not be relied upon to differentiate between principles and slogans. - Yours, etc.,
Una Loftus, Seafield Avenue, Dublin 3.