Letters to the Editor, August 12th: On a peace deal for Ukraine, upsetting images, and fearless women

Irish Times

12-08-2025

Sir, – As your editorial on the forthcoming Putin-Trump summit in Alaska ('
Ukraine must be at the table,'
August 10th) quite rightly states, 'the prize this week for Vladimir Putin would be a deal with Donald Trump that Ukraine cannot accept, with the US then walking away and washing its hands of the conflict'.
In that scenario, Putin would be free to grab as much Ukrainian territory as he wants, to continue to destroy the country's infrastructure, and to inflict such a defeat on Ukraine that enables him to dictate peace terms and, quite possibly, imperil Ukraine's existence as an independent state.
To thwart Putin, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy should heed the wishes of the great majority of Ukrainians, who now want to end the war with Russia, even if it means harsh compromises. He should engage constructively with whatever deal Trump manages to extract from Putin. Zelenskiy's European allies should support Trump's initiative by seeking their own summit with Putin.
Surely the time has come to silence the guns through the pursuit of diplomacy and for EU members to curtail arms supplies to Kyiv and instead pour resources into Ukraine's postwar reconstruction?
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The alternative to a diplomatic end to the war is, I fear, Ukraine's complete destruction as a sovereign state.
Benjamin Franklin's aphorism that 'there never was a good war or a bad peace' has never been more apposite. – Yours, etc,
GEOFFREY ROBERTS,
Royal Irish Academy member,
Emeritus professor of history,
University College Cork.
Sir, – By what authority has Donald Trump got to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine? The answer is none.
His comments that he might allow Volodymyr Zelenskiy to attend is insulting, as are his comments that he will decide how much Ukraine territory to give to Russia.
It is good to see sensible European leaders speaking up for Ukraine. We need a strong Europe to counter a weak US which has lost its way as its president can no longer be seen as the leader of the free world. – Yours, etc,
VINCENT COLMAN,
Sutton,
Dublin.
Sir, – If they give Donald Trump a Nobel Prize for Peace, I'll have no option but to return my pioneer pin. – Yours, etc,
PJ MALONEY,
Cloneyheigue,
Westmeath.
Weighing in on SUVs
Sir, – Catherine Conlon (Letters, August 11th) is right about SUVs and safety.
The climate cost is equally stark. The International Energy Agency estimates that the world's SUV fleet (over 360 million vehicles) produced about one billion tonnes of CO2 in 2023 – if SUVs were a country their emissions would rank among the very largest.
SUVs burn about 20 per cent more fuel than equivalent cars, so replacing them would cut emissions by at least 200 million tonnes a year – half a per cent of global CO2, the same as shutting 67 coal-fired power stations or taking 44 million cars off the road.
It's more than 3½ times Ireland's total emissions. Yet the wealthy still buy them as urban status symbols. In reality, an SUV is comparable to a private jet on the ground – oversized, unnecessary and polluting far more than needed.
France's weight-based tax shows one way forward – Ireland could copy it tomorrow – or just ban them altogether. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O'SHEA,
Planet before Profit CLG,
Shankill,
Dublin 18.
Recycling suggestions
Sir, – May I make a modest suggestion, out of immoderate frustration, that the deposit return scheme (¤66 million unclaimed at the last count) might be improved?
Can the website re-turn.ie not show when their recycling stations are operating and when they are full?
In city and in county, I have trudged from station to station to find that a commercial operator has filled the machine.
Should there not be separate machines for commercial enterprises?
Is no one monitoring this State-imposed system (which I fully support )? – Yours, etc,
LEO ENRIGHT,
Temple Bar,
Dublin.
Sir, – The news that Re-Turn has recorded a pre-tax profit of ¤51.3 million last year hopefully means that it might install more of the recycling machines in places such as Naas, of which there are too few Or, at least ensure that those machines are in working order. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN McMAHON,
Naas,
Co Kildare.
What do landlords earn?
Sir, – I refer to the letter from Michael Cawley (August 9th). He calculates a landlord with a €400,000 investment can earn €9,000 a year net. He has left it to the reader to decide if this is an adequate return.
The same sum invested in a (named bank) two-year term deposit would also return €9,000 before Dirt is deducted. The net income after Dirt is €5,310.
In addition to this income, the value of the capital sum on deposit is decreasing with inflation, whereas the value invested in property is constantly growing and should be reflected in the benefit to the landlord.
I think in the circumstances the landlord is achieving a very adequate income. – Yours, etc,
MIKE BROPHY,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Your correspondent Michael Cawley (Letters, August 9th) parlays a gross return after expenses of over €20,000 down to under €10,000 by deducting his tax and social welfare payments and then invites your readers to consider the adequacy of this lesser figure as a return on an investment of €400,000 made some years before. The fact that he has to pay tax does not convert a 5 per cent return into a 2.5 per cent one.
Perhaps most importantly the residential property price index has gone up by something of the order of 150 per cent in the past dozen years, representing a significant embedded capital gain for landlords, a fact that is rarely alluded to in correspondence of landlords and their representatives. – Yours, etc,
TERRY GRIFFIN,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.
Israel, Hamas and Gaza conflict
Sir, – Betty Purcell asks: 'Why did RTÉ continually refer to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, long after CNN and Channel 4 dropped this nomenclature?' (Letters, August 8th). As a ground-breaking former producer at RTÉ, Ms Purcell does herself a great disservice by asking such a question.
Surely the question ought to be why CNN and Channel 4 have chosen to drop this nomenclature, rather than why RTÉ has chosen to retain it?
It is a matter of established fact that the health ministry in Gaza is run by officials of Hamas, the de facto governing authority in the area, and a genocidal terrorist organisation which originally sparked the ongoing conflict there.
In what other conflict would pronouncements made by such an organisation be carried by a public service broadcaster without including some kind of caveat as to their reliability?
Would we accept the statements of any Taliban-run department of state in Afghanistan at face value, without any caveats?
Or take the word of the Kremlin as an authoritative source of information on the number of casualties in Russia's war against Ukraine?
As Patrick Smyth notes in his column ('Trump seems determined to square the circle of making anti-science work, no matter what the cost,' August 9th), even democratic governments have a tendency to massage official statistics for political reasons.
So how can supporters of the Palestinian cause suggest that statements and statistics issued by ministries run by Hamas should be accepted as the full and unvarnished truth?
RTÉ ought to be commended for retaining a degree of objectivity in relation to this issue, and for not accepting the pronouncements of Hamas as categorical statements of fact, as other media organisations have done. – Yours, etc,
SARAH-ANNE CLEARY,
Co Roscommon.
Sir, – Excellent piece by Sonia Harris Pope ('
As an Irish Jew my Star of David is no longer a badge of pride but a mark of shame,
' August 9th). She gives voice to the rational critique of a systematic and horrendous genocide perpetrated by a right-wing government hell bent on revenge and retribution, while acknowledging the risk to herself socially and personally.
Saying nothing is not an option, but maybe too many in that government, and others cheering from the sidelines are okay with 'never again (well at least not to us)'. – Yours, etc,
EOIN O'KANE,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I agree with everything Mark O'Connell expressed in his column '
Condemning only starvation in Gaza is hollow rhetoric
,' August 9th.
My only reservation was that the excellent article was accompanied by the ubiquitous photo-image of a starving child in her helpless mother's arms, staring at the reader.
It is a haunting image and tragically similar to so many on social media, along with the invariable backdrop to the live TV broadcasts we see on our TV screens every day.
However, as someone who worked for over 50 years in the area of international development and tropical medicine, I see no evidence today of what was once standard ethical regulations around the images that exploit the suffering of people whose images are used without their permissions.
In particular, the use of recognisable images of those who are suffering, for fundraising purposes, was in the very recent past challenged and should certainly be challenged today. The exploitation of human dignity should not be acceptable and never be monetised. – Yours, etc,
Dr VINCENT KENNY,
Knocklyon,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – Basketball Ireland released a statement last Friday evening around its decision to compete in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket Women 2027 qualifiers, which sees them play Israel away on November 18th.
In 2022 this same organisation refused to play its qualifiers against Belarus due to its opponents' support of Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
I struggle to understand how this organisation's moral stance has changed so dramatically in the last three years.
Where is the consistency?
Let us not forget how impactful the sporting boycott of South Africa was in bringing down apartheid. – Yours, etc,
ROSS GARVEY,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.
A very caring people
Sir, – I find the attacks and menacing of Indian nationals in Ireland incomprehensible. To the best of my knowledge they are in gainful employment here and contributing to the Irish economy.
Earlier this year I was cared for by Indian nurses both in hospital and later in convalescence, where I found them to be capable, caring, respectful and possessing a sense of humour similar to us Irish.
Indeed, the Irish health service couldn't run without them. – Yours, etc,
TONY CORCORAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
A tribute to the health service
Sir, – I would like to take the opportunity to offer words of high praise for, and gratitude to, the HSE and all those working in our healthcare services. My late sister was a beneficiary of their wonderful, collective professionalism. She had been transferred from London to her native Dublin for her final medical care.
From the word go, her newly acquired GP, St Vincent's University Hospital, St Luke's Hospital and Blackrock Hospice all rendered their particular treatments and social services care in smooth combination, and made her final weeks as comfortable as possible.
I would also like to make special reference to the marvellous paramedics who responded so quickly and efficiently when she needed final transferring to SVUH, where she passed away peacefully in their care.
Thank you, HSE. – Yours, etc,
CYRIL McHALE,
Blackrock,
Dublin.
A thief-proof bicycle
Sir, – Having, like Frank McNally, had my bike stolen, I resolved that its replacement should be as thief-proof as possible (An Irishman's Diary, August 7th).
I built it with a single-speed rear hub with a coaster brake, operated by pedalling backwards.
This meant that there were no levers to mount on the handlebars.
The bars I fitted were completely straight, and were held in place by a bolt with a quick-release lever.
Having reached my destination and locked the bike, I opened the quick-release and took the handlebars with me.
I know some people will steal anything, but my strategy ruled out anyone riding away, at least. – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM SMITH,
Lancashire,
England.
Is this a record?
Sir, – Walking along a Sligo pavement, I found a black plastic disc, around eight inches across with a hole in the middle.
As per your current theme, is this a record? – Yours, etc,
STEVEN BARKER,
Milk Harbour,
Co Sligo.
Sir, – On Saturday there were three separate letters with the phrase 'is this a record'. Is this a record? – Yours, etc,
RORY CRAIG,
Carrickmines,
Dublin.
Sir, – I am thoroughly enjoying the letters about the letters in the Letters to the Editor section.
Brings some joy and smiles! – Yours, etc,
DENISE MURPHY,
Clontarf,
Dublin.
Bowel screening
Sir, – Since its introduction in 2012 the bowel screening programme has undoubtedly saved lives.
It has reassured many and forewarned others. I was very glad to avail of the very efficiently run scheme some years ago.
Now that I am in my 70s I, like all others in that age category and beyond, am excluded from the programme. I resent that discrimination and suggest that it is unjust.
I request the Minister for Health to right the blatant wrong and allow us equality of care. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GLEESON,
Killarney,
Co Kerry.
Fearless women
Sir – Sunday's All-Ireland final showed that camogie must be the most athletic, skilful, physical and fearless game in women's sport worldwide. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT ASHMORE,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.