Sir, - With reference to the £100 million beef industry fine, we as PAYE workers feel very much aggrieved that yet again, we the PAYE taxpayers of this country, are being robbed in, order to pay for the incompetence of the Department of Agriculture and the underhand dealings of the beef industry.
As paid up union members for many years, we expected the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to protest most strongly at this unwarranted attack on our wages, but yet again, they sit on their hands and fob us off with the usual excuses. We also not - that they are very quick to jump on the "peace hand wagon" while doing nothing for the people who pay their wages every year by fighting against the very unfair tax system and social welfare cuts that have been placed on us by successive governments over the years.
Long gone are the days in the early 1980s when PAYE people took to the streets in protest at the unfair tax system in operation, when in fact nothing has changed over the intervening years. We look on in envy at the influence and effect the farmers' protests have achieved when at a protest on the streets of Dublin IFA leaders said: "We did not commit the crime so we will not pay the fine." Neither did the PAYE sector commit the crime but we wonder will we end up paying another so called "temporary levy", the same as the levies that were pushed on us in the past.
We would encourage every union member in the country to write to their union leaders to protest vigorously at this unfair levy. We would hope our union leaders would take a leaf out of their IFA counterparts book, and if necessary, call a one day stoppage to protest outside Leinster House against this very unfair extra tax that is going to be imposed on us. Yours, etc.,
Tara Mines,
Navan,
Co Meath.