Sir, - The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General made for enthralling reading. Kathy Sheridan summed it up succinctly (The Irish Times, July 24th): "The Government, the bankers, the Revenue Commissioners were in thrall to the monied classes."
As someone who took part in the PAYE marches of the late 1970s and early 1980s, this is hardly news. In fact, it could serve as an accurate summary of much of what we have gleaned from recent tribunals. However, it is the comments of people who were aware of what was happening at that time that I find interesting.
Mr Maurice O'Connell, the Governor of the Central Bank, admits "We were broadly aware of the fact that people were avoiding tax." He carries on to say that "there were a lot of things at the time that may be forgotten today."
Dream on, Maurice! "The time" was the 1980s and I will not forget the punitive tax regime endured by PAYE workers, the closure of hospital wards and even hospitals, the massive emigration or the introduction of Circular 20/ 87 to increase class size in our primary schools at a time when we already had the largest classes in the EU.
Nor will I forget the party which ran an election campaign with the slogan "Health cuts hurt the poor, the sick and the handicapped", and in government proceeded to prove just that - and how!
I will not forget how taxpayers (a very select group!) were constantly told how we owed £7,500, every man, woman and child of us, to foreign banks yet; at a time of unprecedented cutbacks, the Government could find over £100 million to "solve" the ICI debacle.
I will not forget the Minister for Education who questioned the "morality" of teachers pursuing a pay claim nor the decision of our parliamentarians to award themselves a 19 per cent increase.
I could go on. . .and on. . .and on. . .
Vincent Browne (Opinion, July 28th) suggested that all who served as Minister for Finance between 1982 and 1997 have a case to answer regarding their handling of the issue of bogus non-resident accounts. One former occupant of the office ventured that the area was an issue and had resulted in an outbreak of "head-scratching".
A case highlighted in your pages lately was that of a young man, somewhat the worse for drink, who urinated at an ATM outlet and was ordered by the judge to stand there while holding a sign proclaiming his remorse.
I can think of many, many people to whom that young man could pass on his placard - people whose behaviour was far more reprehensible, and far more offensive to the public. - Yours, etc.,
Joe Lyons, Barnakyle, Patrickswell, Co Limerick.