Sir, - The large sums of money earned by the top RTE presenters Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Gerry Ryan, Marian Finucane and others, are indefensible.
These are the people who every day on our radio and TV discuss the rights and wrongs of payments to single parents, express shock at revelations of alleged dole fraud, and will even bemoan the fact that the politicians are overpaid. Gaybo said recently that his salary was his own business and not up for discussion. Pity he doesn't apply the same shyness when he condescendingly discusses the circumstances of the poor and unemployed.
He once had the singer, Red Hurley, as a guest on the Late Late Show and Red was recounting how when his career took a nose dive, he was so badly off that he even had his electricity turned oft by the company. Mr Byrne was most sympathetic, and immediately made the distinction that Mr Hurley was not like the people who had their electricity disconnected "as a way of life". What a slur on the poor, who struggle to raise families on welfare, who do not use their benefit money to buy drink and drugs instead of trying to pay the bills, and, who may also have experienced disconnection.
The other highly paid presenters, whom the public purse can ill afford, are equally as culpable when it comes to giving their insensitive responses to the too frequent attacks on the financial status of the poorest people in Ireland. - Yours, etc.,
Glengarriff Road,
Bantry,
Co Cork.