A chara,

Recent meetings about funding for Leader etc., saw members of the Labour Party in attendance. In Fermoy on Tuesday last, these members were ominously and significantly silent.

On the previous Friday, Minister of State, Seán Sherlock attended a meeting and, instead of pledging his unconditional support for those opposing this unnecessary and damaging change in funding and function, he assured that meeting that he will ‘discuss this with his colleagues in Government’. It is time for Seán Sherlock to face some facts. We are not interested in his face-saving ‘discussions with colleagues in Government’. We elected him to represent this constituency and its interests as we see them. We elected him to fight on our behalf, inside and outside of the Dáil, to promote our interests and to ensure that bad, ideology-driven policies were prevented from going through.

It is clear from his words that he is not going to Dublin to fight. He is going to ‘discuss’. If his contribution to any discussion had been of any significance to date, this change would have been dead in the water. However, Fine Gael and Phil Hogan have spoken; Labour, fulfilling as significant a role as a nodding dog on the back shelf of the car of state, has quietly acquiesced. We appointed you, Mr Sherlock, to represent us. If you do not do so with full commitment and with significant, measurable success, we will ‘dis-appoint’ you at the next Dáil election. It is for you to decide now whether you want your career in Dáil Éireann to continue after that election or if you want to be contesting future County Council elections in the vain hope of reviving your political career. We, also, will decide that issue. The days of sitting on the fence are over. Change your input or we will ensure your ‘out-put’.

Is mise le meas,

Tomás Ó Briain,

4, Faiche Naomh Colmán,

Mainistir Fhear Maí.