Lee spoke about going into politics for his kids sake. Now, nine months later he's throwing his toys out of the pram because he wasn't elevated to high office immediately.

Privacy? Don't make me f*ckn laugh. He's clearly a self-centred careerist.

Madam, – George Lee’s resignation is an act of disloyalty to the 27,000 people who voted for him and to the hundreds of people who canvassed for him (Breaking News, February 8th). More than those, it is an act of gross betrayal to Fine Gael, which invested faith, time, and great energy in him.

Mr Lee’s experience as a television economics reporter and his nine months as a TD do not entitle him to a senior economic role in a party of 31,000 members. Fine Gael secured 605,333 votes in last summer’s local elections.

Yes, he is a qualified economist. But Fine Gael Senator Eugene Regan has vastly superior academic economic qualifications. Mr Lee’s former Fine Gael Oireachtas colleagues Joe McHugh TD, Kieran O’Donnell TD, and Senator Paschal Donohue are qualified economists. And his former colleagues Seán Barrett TD, Frank Feighan TD, and John Perry TD have vast practical understanding of commerce.

In any event, he was given ample scope in debate, through his position as chairperson of the Fine Gael Economic Forum, through his membership of the pre-Budget Fine Gael Business Roadshow, and through his weekly attendance at meetings of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party.

There will be a few days of media heat, and the same tired anti-Fine Gael media voices will refrain, yet again, that this has “fatally undermined the Kenny leadership”.

When the political lava cools, who will be buried beneath? – Yours, etc,