Public sector a scapegoat for the failure of others

I HAVE no wish to enter into a protracted correspondence with any individual over the issue of unpaid leave in the public service, but I feel I owe James McGrath the courtesy of a reply to his polemic (Letters, December 14).

Indeed there was a sort of public hysteria in response to the idea of unpaid leave, though I am certainly willing to acknowledge that some of the people joining in the outcry might have been well-intentioned rather than just misinformed.

The sad thing about the over-the-top reaction by so many people – and indeed by some of our public representatives – is that it seems to have been to a very skewed version of what in fact was being negotiated between the trade unions and the Government.