Sir, - It is a matter of record that there are perfectly respectable democracies in which there is no Vincent Browne. Some have variants on our own Vincent Browne, but some have none at all. Deprived they may be, but democracies they undoubtedly are. So democracy can survive without a Vincent Browne!
It is perhaps richer, though, if it has a Vincent Browne. Ideas which are resisted by the establishment, for instance, often get an airing via a Vincent Browne. Ideas which appear daft often surface too, but that may be the price one has to pay. Maybe we could use our own Vincent Browne better. Could he be reformed, for instance? Could we coerce him to be more balanced, more representative, more relevant to ordinary lives? Hardly. Such is his constitution that he would wilt and fade away if such constraints were imposed. It looks as if it is "take it our leave it".
So do we need Vincent Browne? More importantly, can we afford him? Twenty years' experience of the good and the mind-boggling, and much recent late-night radio entertainment compel me to say yes. A drain on our resources and test of our patience he may be, but our democracy - secretive, selfimportant and self-serving as it is - still needs the challenges, the barbs and the occasional flashes of wit! - Yours, etc., BRENDAN RYAN,
Middle Glanmire Road,
Cork.
PS: 12 years' experience lead me to believe that much the same arguments apply to the Seanad.