Bertie’s travel costs are ours — not his own

IN your report (December 28) on the carbon footprint of various ministers, you stated in a caption under a photo of the Taoiseach — “Bertie Ahern: Driving to work costs him €3k a year”.

I presume you intended this to have read that driving the Taoiseach to work costs us, the taxpayers, €3k a year?

It may be the case that our money-grabbing Taoiseach views the public purse as confetti for his own personal use, as shown by the controversy over his own pay hike, his comments about not having his own Élysée Palace, and his abuse of taxpayers’ €25k a year on make-up.

I would hope, however, that the Irish Examiner does not share this view? You might also have pointed out that had Mr Ahern’s promise to open a Metro line north of Dublin city by 2007 not been a pack of lies, then he would now be able to take a train from Drumcondra to the city centre every morning, thus saving the weary taxpayer €3k per annum.

Barry Walsh

Brooklawn

Clontarf

Dublin 3