As to any hope that we might see left-wing (so that's the Labour Party safe then) or republican politicians ever pilloried on RTE, the timehonoured response of Michael Bailey to the late James Gogarty, as recorded at the Flood tribunal, must apply.

Ultan O Broin MA, South Circular Road, Dublin 8.

In support of nurses' action on pay claim From Sean Fallon WERE the awards made in the last round of benchmarking:

1. Really a result of comparisons between publicservice pay and conditions and private-sector 'equivalents' or 2. A covert re-balancing fraud to evade knock-on pay claims?

If the former, why should nurses' pay be decided using private-sector values of curtailing wages and increasing productivity to maximise profits? The government and Siptu want this for nurses but why should nurses accept this?

If the latter, why should nurses accept such a fraud?

And there is evidence that it was a re-balancing fraud. For example, the garda 4% award followed their previous large 'blue flu' award. The teachers' 13% award followed huge productivity increases with no award and consequent industrial action by the ASTI.

Either way, on that occasion the 'docile' nursing unions' submissions were virtually ignored so I fully support their current stance. There is an old Indian saying: Cheat me once and shame on you! Cheat me twice and shame on me!

Sean Fallon, 2 Killakee Walk, Firhouse, Dublin 24.

Ethics on abortion are clear-cut From JA Barnwell HAS Ireland betrayed herself?

According to some press reports, persons in certain circumstances may have been previously facilitated in visiting the UK for abortions.

Such contingency cases arose where the unborn child was not expected to survive once born.

The ethical principle is clear-cut. Dying is indeed a physical evil but killing is a monstrous moral evil. Hence a deep spiritual difference.

Vigilance is vital to safeguard the sanctity of the human person. Life belongs to the lord of life.

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

Pensions Board article misleading From Brendan Kennedy I REFER to an article in the business section on 22 April headed "Tough approach from Pensions Board could turn off new trustees". This gives a misleading impression of the proposed approach to be taken by the Pensions Board.

The board's new report on trusteeship mentioned in the article actually strongly supports Trustees in their responsibilities. Among the recommendations are:

? Regulation of pension scheme administrators so they can be prosecuted if they do not meet their commitments to trustees.

? Mandatory trustee training by employers for all trustees within six months of their appointment and at least every two years thereafter.

? Exploring the potential of new means of trustee training such as e-learning.

? Encouraging trustee trainers to hold regional courses.

The board values the work of trustees and our report is intended to support their role.

There were also comments in the article about the 'on the spot fine' provisions in the recent Social Welfare and Pensions Act as passed by the Oireachtas. This regime will provide an alternative to criminal prosecution for relatively minor breaches of the Pensions Act. Some of the quotes in the article in relation to this matter are misleading.

The Pensions Board's aim is to eliminate any unacceptable pension administration standards so that the retirement savings of scheme members will be properly protected.

The great majority of trustees should have nothing to be concerned about, and the board will continue its reasonable approach to ensuring compliance with the Pensions Act.

Further information is available on the Pensions Board's website www. pensionsboard. ie.

Brendan Kennedy, Chief executive, The Pensions Board, Dublin 2.

Fixation with unity is a 'cancer' to our political body From Dick Keane TOM Cooper (Letters, 15 April) rejects my call to resist our primeval urge for a united Ireland and he pledges to continue banging on about a 32county republic in the name of "democracy".

His understanding of democracy is simplistic in the extreme. Democracy works fine within a tribe or nation where there is general consensus on governance.

Where, however, there is a fundamental conflict between tribes, normal majority rule simply does not work, ergo:

powersharing in Northern Ireland.

This fixation with a united Ireland is like a cancer in our body politic and, until expunged, can break out as violence at any time in any generation.

I would ask Tom Cooper, and his fellow travellers, not to underestimate the power of our animal territorial instinct to cloud and twist our rational mind in these matters.

A "united Ireland" is not our call and to persist in banging on about it is aggressive and belligerent, as well as being downright insulting, offensive and infuriating to our unionist neighbours.

If ever a majority of unionists want unity it is for them to request it and for us to consider it.

Dick Keane, Glenageary, Co Dublin.

'Versatile' Vincent misses the point From Denis Ryan AFTER hundreds of hours of forensic probing on his radio programme, it seems Vincent Browne now accepts the Taoiseach has no questions to answer in relation to the Mahon tribunal's investigation into the Quarryvale planning controversy.

So, he changes the goalposts and has now started to trawl through the entrails of Ahern's house rental and purchase in the early 1990s and what he considers a fair price for renovations.

Is there no end to his versatility?

This is what passes for political discourse from the self-appointed guardian of the public good.

It gets more farcical by the day.

Denis Ryan, 17 St Patrick's Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.