Letters: Paschal Donohoe's optimism out of place with the grim reality many in our country face

Irish Independent

14 hours ago

Working longer and harder for the same returns is unlikely to resonate with most people, particularly so with disruptive technologies such as AI and profound demo­graphic trends affecting a multitude of industries.
This comes on the back of a big increase of 12,700 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in July, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.9pc.
Couple this with over 300,000 struggling to pay their electricity bills in the height of summer and the last thing anyone wants to hear is to work longer and harder.
Why would a member of Generation Z, for example, want to increase their productivity when no matter what they do, they will never be able to afford a home or childcare?
The only ones who really benefit from the younger generation working longer hours are the people who have it already made – in other words, your typical Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil voter.
Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry
Sick attacks on our Indian neighbours suggest céad míle fáilte is just a myth
President Michael D Higgins has condemned recent attacks on Indian people living in Ireland as a 'stark contradiction' to the values the Irish public hold dear (August 13).
Unfortunately, it seems that those traditional values of welcome and openness to the stranger have been diminishing and even disappearing, to the point that they are being replaced by open hostility and violence.
It can be argued that our tradition­al welcome of 'céad míle fáilte' is more of a myth and make-believe to attract tourism rather than ever being embedded in our culture. Hostility against the Traveller community was and remains endemic in settled society.
It is heartbreaking to have to listen to international protection applicants as they describe how they are taunted with racist slurs on our streets and how they fear going out alone in public places for fear of being assaulted.
Our streets have become a hostile environment not only for our Indian community and asylum-seekers, but for the LGBTQ+ and other marginalised groups.
This hostility bordering on hatred against the stranger is not confined just to our cities, but has taken root throughout the country. A few extra gardaí might contain the violence for a while, but a more radical approach to this epidimic of hostility is needed.
Brendan Butler, Homefarm Road, Dublin 9
Technology may seem like it's everywhere, but it can't match God for ubiquity
Catherine Prasifka's article on clankers and the role of technology in our lives is spot on ('In a world of us and clankers, Big Tech is creating a future we haven't consented to', August 14).
Lately, I've noticed many people worrying that George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has finally arrived, thanks to artificial intelligence, facial recognition and CCTV cameras everywhere.
To them, I say, welcome to my childhood. At Tullysaran primary school in the 1960s, I was taught with great conviction that God saw everything I did, said and even thought.
Compared with that, CCTV is a mere intrusion. At least cameras don't claim to know what's in my head.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
Dublin cancer exhibition tells an important story about resilience and hope
When we think of cancer, we often think of it in statistics – one in two of us will face it in our lifetimes – but behind every diagnosis is a person, a story and a family.
That human experience, along with the incredible progress of Irish-led ­science, is at the heart of a new exhibition opening this week in Dublin.
'Cancer Revolution: Science, Innovation and Hope' is the first exhibition of its kind in Ireland, and it exists because we believe it's time to change the public conversation about cancer.
It brings together deeply personal items donated by people affected by the disease, alongside groundbreaking research, innovations in treatment and historical discoveries that have changed the face of medicine.
This is not a story of despair, it is a story of resilience. The exhibition is free and open to the public from today until October 31 at Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Dublin.
Orla Dolan, Breakthrough Cancer Research
World will face dangerous future if Trump and Putin agree to carve up Ukraine
If today's meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump results in a repeat of Munich in 1938, then the dismemberment of Ukraine will not bring peace in eastern Europe, but a wider conflict and a repeat of mid-20th century worldwide war.
Not only will Putin be rewarded for his blatant disregard for the rules-based order, but others such as China's Xi and Trump will be encouraged to act in a similar manner.
The EU must grow a backbone and reject, in the strongest terms possible, any concessions proposed to Russia and Putin.
The only solution is a restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea and Donbas, reparations to be paid by Russia for the damages and deaths caused by its illegal actions and the conviction of Putin for war crimes.
The alternative is a world thrown into the chaos best described by Thomas Hobbes: nasty, brutish and short, where every man is enemy to every man.
Bill Hawkes, Kilmihil, Co Clare
Small group of politicians in US should not delay a bill vital for Palestinians
Sixteen US congressmen and women stated 'serious concerns' regarding the Irish Government's Occupied Territories Bill ('Government to push ahead with Occupied Territories Bill', August 9).
As there are 435 congressmen and women in the House of Representatives, this equates to just over 3pc of US government elected officials.
With such a small number, it is hardly worth our Government's while to be concerned with their concerns in moving forward with this important humanitarian bill.