Bertie does have a lot to answer for From Diarmad O Grainne

DEREK TONER doesn't see much wrong in Bertie Ahern taking payments from political cronies and Manchester businessmen. This is the type of mindset that has led to numerous tribunals being set up at considerable cost to the taxpayer. This line of thinking is wrong and it is wrong for the following reason: If you are the minister for finance, as Bertie Ahern was in 1993, and you are beholden to certain businesspeople, then you are automatically compromised, or you are perceived to be, when devising your budget estimates. This is the crux of the matter and no amount of plamas can set it right.

Diarmad O Grainne, Mullach na Si, Co Roscomain.

FF needs to ditch PDs and get a new leader From Darren Mac an Phriora

IT'S ironic that Fianna Fail may be now . . . at this late stage . . . prepared to run the country without the Progressive Democrats.

Many people will consider that after over nine years of the most economically right-wing government the state has ever seen (and only after the PDs themselves were allegedly thinking about pulling out), that Fianna Fail now . . . and only now . . . feel strong enough to stand without them as pure rubbish.

Why did they not do so after the 2002 general election?

Michael McDowell was right in declaring that his party are "the meat in the sandwich" of the current government. As a result of this cold fact, Fianna Fail will lose many seats in the upcoming general election.

Fianna Fail do not only need to ditch the PDs. They need to reclaim their soul and get a new leader.

Darren Mac an Phriora, Caislean Cnucha, Baile Atha Cliath 15.

Ryanair has "ights to Holland too From Michael Cawley

I REFER to an article in the travel section of last Sunday's magazine, about Hoge Veluwe National Park in Holland.

While the review was excellent, in the section on 'getting there' Aer Lingus flights from Cork and Dublin to Amsterdam were featured, with no mention of Ryanair's daily service from Dublin to Eindhoven. In fact, Eindhoven is closer to this park than Amsterdam.

Michael Cawley, Deputy CEO Ryanair, Dublin Airport.

Open debate needed on mass immigration From JA Barnwell

THE Economic and Social Research Institute advises against additional immigration from Bulgaria and Romania.

Instead, Ireland needs to "pause for breath". How true!

Reasoned public discourse seems desirable on all aspects of mass immigration. Any exchanges to date, however, have been narrowed to the labour force/employment impact only. Yet there is such a thing as society. Community counts.

Mass immigration has noneconomic . . . cultural and social . . .implications. Culturally, the survival, and status, of the Irish language and the sense of continuity of a distinctive national identity are important factors which figure. Socially, fast population growth puts greater pressure on public provision of housing accommodation, hospital/health care, school capacity and transport.

Michael Collins once observed "The people are the masters."

Ultimately, popular sovereignty prevails in our constitutional democracy. Hence the "principle of consent."

Open debate facilitates a communal consensus. "Come, let us reason together."

JA Barnwell, 5 St Patrick's Road, Dublin 9.

Football analysis advice for Hayes From Stephen Fernane

AS ONE who admired your footballing contribution over the years for Meath, Liam Hayes's analytical skills require some nourishment. Seeing, though, that you honestly alluded to your own foolishness regarding yet another Mayo failure, I will wisely refrain from adding further to your longoverdue admission.

Firstly, there is no one more aware of Mayo's failure and heartbreak than those directly involved. Add to the mix, thousands of Mayo people, who yet again dared to believe. They are a proud people and certainly do not deserve a 'tabloid-style' kick in the teeth when down.

Also, your comments last week regarding certain Mayo players were cheap and degrading.

Secondly, regarding your assertion that this Kerry team is not a great one, let's examine a few facts. Attaching the mantle of greatness to a Kerry team is something which usually occurs externally and not necessarily within the county itself. Let me try and explain something to you, Liam. While those outside the county tend to get themselves in a twist on whether or not a Kerry team is a great one, we simply continue to play football.

Hopefully this approach along the way will yield an all-Ireland or two; like this year for example, when we won it for the 34th time. Kerry's football fraternity prefer internal examination, a kind of 'you mind your business, and we will mind ours', because we don't just think we know what we are talking about when it comes to football, we unreservedly know what we are talking about.

Finally, your senseless recommendation that "one punch was needed on the nose of the nearest, unfortunate Kerry opponent, " is once again a very under-researched remark.

You see Liam, if dear old county Kerry were a face, it would have two noses! One would be similar to that of Frank Bruno, serving to remind us of the times we left our guard down. While the second nose would be that of Mohammed Ali, beautiful, straight, pretty, clean, strong . . .all the attributes of greatness.

Metaphors aside, this Kerry team, over the years, has taken more than enough 'blows to the nose'. Meath 2001, Armagh 2002, Tyrone 2003 and 2005, Cork 2006. Still, as the blows rained down, this Kerry team in the past 10 years has contested six finals, winning four, losing two, while appearing in four semi-finals outside of winning.

Certainly, if this were a boxing match the referee is unlikely to stop the fight due to a trickle of blood from the nose.

So best of luck Liam as you continue to assess football. Here in Kerry, we will continue to do what we do best, win allIrelands. Elsewhere they can turn themselves silly on whether we are great or not, because deep in the soul of this county, we already know the answer. To quote the great man himself, which modestly never yet came from a Kerry manager: "I am the greatest."

Stephen Fernane, Kilflynn, Tralee, Co Kerry.

Who died and put Kennedy in charge?

From Felix McTiernan

THE recent publication by a national newspaper of unlawfully obtained information concerning the Taoiseach has raised interesting and important issues relating to the legal, ethical and moral behaviour of the media in Ireland.

The Flood (now Mahon) tribunal is conducted in accordance with the law; its actions and decisions are reviewable in the courts and it is accountable to the Oireachtas. Despite its shortcomings, it is carrying out very important work in exposing corruption in politics.

To date, an important tool the tribunal has used in carrying out its work is to request a broad spectrum of information and documents from certain individuals on a confidential basis.

Obviously, cooperation by individuals on this basis can greatly assist the tribunal in separating the wheat from the chaff and deciding on which issues need to be explored further.

The National Union of Journalists expresses its full support for the stance taken by Colm Keena and Geraldine Kennedy of the Irish Times, and Kennedy tells the tribunal that it does not have a monopoly in investigating wrongdoing by politicians.

The questions I would like to raise are:

1) Colm Keena and Geraldine Kennedy were not elected by anyone . . . who are they accountable to?

2) Colm Keena and Geraldine Kennedy apparently feel very strongly that politicians must act ethically, morally and within the law . . . how do they reconcile that stance with their own blatantly unlawful refusal to reveal the source of the unlawfully obtained information they published?

3) Geraldine Kennedy decided to publish the information because she decided it was for "the common good". Who appointed Geraldine Kennedy as the arbiter of what is and what is not 'for the common good'? How do we know that is what motivated her? Even if this opinion was honestly held, was it correct?

4) Colm Keena and Geraldine Kennedy call for complete transparency in the actions of all politicians . . . yet they feel justified in claiming a "privilege" to operate in complete secrecy themselves. Should they have such a privilege and, if so, what should be its extent?

Undoubtedly there are occasions when journalists should not be obliged to reveal the source of information acquired by them, but it must be questionable whether information obtained by the commission of a criminal offence, the publication of which results in the undermining of a lawfully constituted tribunal, should come within such a category.

Felix McTiernan, 6 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2.