Sir, – Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is quoted in your newspaper as saying that the Labour Party will support Sinn Féin's motion of no confidence in the Tánaiste, but then goes on to acknowledge that his party "believes that there are bigger issues facing the State at the moment" (News, November 6th).
He doesn’t explain why the party is wasting the Dáil’s time on what it clearly considers to be a fairly unimportant issue, rather than dealing with the”bigger issues”. Is it that the party members are afraid of being ridiculed by Sinn Féin? The rebuilding of Labour would be better served by asserting an stance of independence rather than allowing itself to be used by Sinn Féin. It would be wise to look at what happened to the SDLP in Northern Ireland. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET LEE,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.