Tánaiste lobbies European partners amid concern for Irish deployment in Lebanon
Tánaiste
Simon Harris
has begun diplomatic efforts among European counterparts in a bid to ensure the
United Nations
interim force in Lebanon (
Unifil
) is extended amid concerns the
United States
will act to effectively end, or scale back, the deployment.
There are currently more than 340 members of the
Defence Forces
serving with the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. Last month Mr Harris secured Cabinet approval for Irish involvement to continue for a further 12 months.
However, Unifil's mandate expires on August 31st and the United Nations Security Council must vote to extend it. There are now concerns internationally that the US will vote against its extension or will move to scale it back through reduced funding.
The Israeli media has reported that authorities there believe
Israel
's strikes on Lebanon last year weakened
Hizbullah
, meaning Lebanese armed forces have proven capable of suppressing the group, negating the need for the 10,500-strong Unifil force in the region.
READ MORE
Mr Harris's office has confirmed that at the weekend he began to 'reach out to other European countries to ensure the renewal of the Unifil mandate in southern Lebanon'. He also travelled to Brussels on Sunday for a high-level meeting of foreign affairs ministers scheduled for Monday.
The meeting comes at a time of deepening concern about the security situation in the Middle East following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.
'The Tánaiste will impress on his foreign counterparts on the absolute need for the mission to continue, in order to ensure stability and peace in the region,' Mr Harris's office said when asked about Unifil's future now being under threat.
'Ireland has an unbroken record with Unifil for many decades and has over 340 troops deployed at Camp Shamrock. The French are due to lead the negotiations to extend the mandate with a decision expected to be made in August.'
[
Irish peacekeepers come under fire in Lebanon
Opens in new window
]
Mr Harris's office added he had been briefed on the situation in the Middle East by the Defence Forces. He would also 'continue to discuss options in relation to the future of the mission' with chief of staff of the Defence Forces Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy.
Separately, he was also briefed on a number of incidents that took place in southern Lebanon in recent days, though all Irish troops 'are accounted for and well'.
The Defence Forces have participated in Unifil since 1978. To date, more than 30,000 Irish personnel have served in the eastern Mediterranean country, with 47 fatalities.
Both Hizbullah and the
Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) have frequently breached the ceasefire in the Irish area of operations, while unexploded ordnance from the Israeli invasion late last year pose a serious danger to Irish troops and their colleagues.
In October, the IDF told Ireland to remove its peacekeepers from an outpost on the border with Lebanon as its invasion of the country continued. About 30 Irish Defence Forces personnel then became stranded in their post when IDF personnel moved in beside them, at position 6-52.
The position is southeast of Marun ar Ras, inside Lebanese territory, and where the IDF created a firing position as part of its clashes with Hizbullah before eventually moving on.
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Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 24th: On the US, Iran and Israel, alcohol labels and Damien Duff
Sir, – Much of the narrative this past weekend has been about the threat that Iran poses to the Middle East and the wider world – and it does. However, when I look at the front page of today's paper (June 23rd) and see a picture of Donald Trump, wearing his signature MAGA baseball cap, I see an individual who, as each day passes, poses an even greater threat to the free world. His self-belief in his dictatorial rights and his personal ego, surrounded as he is by a fawning coterie of admirers, means that none of us can sleep easy in our beds. And the response of the rest of the world? 'Yes, Mr Trump' (and it doesn't matter about the question). – Yours, etc, T GERARD BENNETT, Bunbrosna, READ MORE Co Westmeath. Sir, – There is no evidence to prove that Iran's nuclear development programme was on the verge of creating a nuclear bomb – or that Iran intended to ever create one. The US has entered the war on the basis of a lie – just like the lie about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As a consequence, the world is a more dangerous place, and Israel can do what it wants in Gaza because Gaza is no longer headline news. – Yours, etc, CHRIS FITZPATRICK, Terenure, Dublin 6. Sir, – The recent US and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure – including the Fordow nuclear facility – represent a clear success. While echoes of Desert Storm are hard to ignore, this is no copycat conflict. Then, a crumbling dictatorship was flattened after weeks of preparation. Now, a theocratic regime faces targeted precision strikes – and still claims to speak for the Islamic world. Iran calls itself a republic but functions more as a clerical state. Since 1979, it has ruled through fear and martyrdom, pioneering the suicide bomber through the warped logic that 'martyrdom' is not suicide. It has bankrolled Hezbollah, funds Hamas, and propped up Assad in Syria. The Iran nuclear deal of 2015 is dead. Trump pulled out in 2018. The current operation has roots in joint war games conducted under President Biden – another example of continuity in US-Israeli strategic planning. Iran now faces the full squeeze of American power, staged in the sort of geopolitical theatre that feels closer to pro-wrestling than diplomacy. What this moment reveals is the irrelevance of soft power. The EU lectures. The US strikes. And Ireland? We shout from the back of the room like a student union officer trying to go viral. Despite being the most pro-Palestinian government in our history, we're still dismissed as 'Zionist puppets.' No one's satisfied. Nothing gets done. Maybe it's time we stopped chasing applause and started confronting hard truths. – Yours, etc. JORDAN COLE, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Sir, – In the wake of the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, what rational actor in the Middle East region will not conclude that the only guarantee they have against future Israeli- US aggression will be to acquire their own nuclear arsenal as soon as possible? Rather than discouraging Iran, the air strikes will only serve to convince hardliners within the regime to develop nuclear weapons. In the meantime, while the world's media attention shifts away from Gaza, we should remind ourselves that the genocide there continues unabated with ongoing daily atrocities. – Yours, etc, TOMAS McBRIDE, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Nuclear disarmament Sir, – In her letter of June 21st, Mary Fitzgerald states she is not aware of any country disarming since the Non-Proliferation Treaty came into being on the early 1970s. Of course, there is one such country – Ukraine, which had the bravery and care for the common good to dismantle and disarm its nuclear arsenal. It has often been stated, in fact, that if it had kept them it would not have been invaded by Russia. A terrible repayment for doing the world such a service. – Yours, etc, ENDA SCANLON, Ennis, Co Clare. Damien Duff's Shels legacy Sir, – I was shocked to learn of Damien Duff's sudden departure from his position as manager of Shelbourne FC. His legacy as Shelbourne manager is multifaceted. He brought success back to the club after a couple of decades in the doldrums with the 2024 Premier Division title win. He has got Shelbourne back into Europe – a mouth-watering Champions League tie against Linfield awaits his successor. He has filled Tolka Park again – a heaving Riverside is in stark contrast to the empty one of just a few years ago. Then there's the boost to the league as a whole of having such a decorated and celebrated ex-player (two Premier League titles with Chelsea, and 100 Irish International caps). – Yours, etc, BRIAN QUIGLEY, Dublin 9. Alcohol labelling Sir, – Minister of State Alan Dillon is simply wrong when he says that delaying alcohol health-warning labels is not about undermining public health. ('TD says she hasn't drunk alcohol in over 13 years during impassioned plea to not delay health-warning labels,' June 20th). It is undermining public health. The current ministerial dialogue regarding re-examining the democratic Oireachtas decision and legislation to introduce alcohol health-warning labels is an outrageous dereliction of their duty. It prioritises alcohol industry profits over public health. Mr Dillon articulates alcohol industry themes when he says he is reflecting sequencing policy and protecting exports and jobs. Alcohol health-warning labels are a health issue, and are about improving health. Despite the enormous numbers of deaths, illness, crime and social harms of alcohol, most Irish citizens do not know or understand the risks of alcohol consumption. With this in mind, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act was passed unanimously by the Oireachtas in 2018. This Act included provisions to place alcohol health-warning labels on all alcohol products sold in Ireland. The regulations have been signed into law and are due to come into effect in May 2026, a decade after they were first proposed. Citizens, especially, are unaware of the huge cancer risks of alcohol. Alcohol causes seven types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancers, two of the most common in Ireland. Ireland has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in pregnancy in OECD, causing foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which affects up to 2 per cent of people, with lifelong harmful consequences. In my own professional life, I have cared for thousands of patients with alcohol-related liver disease, many of whom have died. The alcohol industry is simply driven by maximising profits. It denies the scale of alcohol harms and deaths. As stated by the World Health Organisation, the alcohol industry, with their conflict of interests, should have no role in public health and should stay in lane. There should be no deferral or stepping back from the introduction of alcohol health warning labels on May 26th 2026. It is a citizen's right to know the harms of the alcohol they consider consuming, and a key public health action. – Yours, etc, Prof FRANK MURRAY, Chair, Alcohol Action Ireland, Dublin. Sir, – So Minister of State Alan Dillon is the latest to support the call by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to re examine the health labelling of alcohol products. He joins many others, including Tánaiste Simon Harris, who was instrumental in passing the labelling issue in the alcohol Act. Mr Dillon said: 'I have a duty to defend the interests of Irish indigenous SMEs who are facing unprecedented global trade pressures'. Not a mention of having a duty to defend the rights of Irish citizens to be informed of some of the harms that alcohol can have on their health. I also have a duty and whereas I don't have the podium that politicians enjoy, I have a right to call you out and say: 'I know that anyone who puts profit before health needs to re-examine their conscience and not re-examine the alcohol health-labelling issue. – Yours, etc, JOHN HIGGINS, Ballina, Co Mayo. A tattoo can be for you too Sir, – Dr Pat McGrath (Letters, June 23rd) writes that tattoos were once the preserve of 'male prisoners, sailors and psychiatric patients'. As a member of a generation born on the 'wrong' side of the release of Tommy by The Who, I admit to still indulging in a bit of body art. It's cheaper than therapy, lasts longer than a haircut, and – unlike a mortgage –I can still get one. A well-worn tattoo offers a much more interesting point of engagement for the younger generation than concepts they cannot relate to, such as landlines or home ownership. Many tattoos commemorate loved ones, mark personal milestones and memories, or serve as a form of entertainment. Most have no meaning to the viewer at all. In an age of deepfakes, disappearing data, doom scrolling, and negligible attention spans, a tattoo might be the last permanent thing left in the world to call your own. Provided that it's not done in comic sans. – Yours, etc, ULTAN Ó BROIN, Co Dublin. Sir, – As a grandmother of eight, I decided, post-pandemic, to fulfil a long held desire to get a tattoo. I now have 10 very small tattoos on the inside of my wrists. Each one has a special meaning for me and they bring me joy. I have no regrets at all. – Yours, etc, LAURA O'MARA, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. RPZs and holiday lets Sir, – The logical outcome of last week's decision to make all of Ireland a rent pressure zone is to immediately shutter short-term rental accommodation in the country, as most of these are now required to have change-of- use planning permission to operate (' Thousands of holiday lets will need planning permission due to rent pressure zone change s,' June 18th). We trust the Government has made alternative accommodation arrangements for all those tourists and Irish holidaymakers who will now be hearing from their holiday-home hosts informing them that their accommodation is no longer available. We trust, too, that the Government is making arrangements to compensate all the small business owners – restaurants, craft shops, tourist attractions – who will see their earnings evaporate from the loss of those visitors. Or, perhaps, the changes to the RPZ legislation is just further disastrous faffing to distract from the Government's failure to meet its own home building targets? All of this as our tourist season is about to begin. – Yours, etc, ROBBYN SWAN, ÁINE McCARTHY-KENT, Co Waterford. MARY VAN SON, Co Kildare, AIDAN SHILLING Co Wexford, Kieran Flanagan, Co Clare, DENISE NOLAN, Co Wicklow. Infrastructure suggestions Sir, – In his column last week, Michael McDowell urged the Government to replicate a piece of legislation from 1925 which the fledgling Free State government enacted to build the massive Ardnacrusha electricity station on the Shannon. It covered the State financing of the project, the CPO-ing of land, construction of canals, and so forth. This is the way, he suggests, to overcome the administrative sclerosis blocking the construction of the north Dublin sewage treatment plant, the piping of water from the Shannon to Dublin, talked about for nearly 30 years, the building of vitally needed onshore and offshore wind energy farms, as well as key road and rail projects. Meanwhile, every Government member, from the Taoiseach down, and the heads of the various State infrastructural agencies (EirGrid, ESB, Uisce Éireann, transport agencies), acknowledge the dire consequences of not resolving these logjams, and the fact that the existing permitting systems are not for purpose. Last month, the Government launched its new accelerating infrastructure taskforce to underline this fact. But this will be little more than the latest episode of 'kicking the can down the road' unless the Government undertakes the kind of bold legislative initiative urged by Senator McDowell. So, could it happen? Well, last week, the Government was able to draft, pass, and have enacted, a Bill extending rent pressure zones to the whole country. Where there's a will, there's a way! – Yours, etc, STEPHEN O'BYRNES, Morehampton Road, Dublin 4. Remembering that summer Sir, – In tandem with your correspondent Michael Gannon (Memories of a summer solstice, Letters, June 21st) I too 'was among the many who had to traipse back to examination halls on Friday, June 27th, and Saturday, June 28th, to sit a repeat of the English and Maths exams' in 1969. In hushed tones, I have admitted that I was happy enough to have a second stab at the Maths papers, even if they had to be taken on a Saturday! The 'stolen papers' wasn't the only hardship visited upon us that year. Just as the cyclical post Christmas wind-up for June was beginning to gain momentum, secondary school teachers went on strike on Saturday, February 1st, 1969 for three weeks, causing considerable disruption, but especially in the mindset of us students. I often wonder how the challenges of the 'Class of 1969' would be dealt with in modern times. Looking back now, I am happy to say that I don't think a Covid-like compensatory inflation of my grades would have made any difference in my consequent and fulfilling working life. – Yours, etc, MAY FAHY, Newbridge, Co Kildare. Dogs on the beach Sir, – The main problem in trying to restrict dogs from our beaches (Letters, June 21st) is that politicians seem unwilling to address the problem. Here in Greystones, on the beautiful South Beach, dogs are supposedly banned from one small patch in the summer, but on most days, dogs and their owners can still be seen there. Local councillors are unwilling to do anything about it as there are just too many dog-owner votes to be lost. Another beach along the front, the Cove, might sometimes be mistaken for a dog park. Joanne Hunt makes clear in her article ( 'Dog business has no business on the beach', June 21st) that dog poo contains a lot of dangerous pathogens and unfortunately un-picked up dog mess decorates our Greystones pavements, grassy areas and all the beaches. – Yours, etc, IGOR CUSACK, Greystones, Co Wicklow. Sir, – Much of the narrative this past weekend has been about the threat that Iran poses to the Middle East and the wider world – and it does. However, when I look at the front page of today's paper (June 23rd) and see a picture of Donald Trump, wearing his signature MAGA baseball cap, I see an individual who, as each day passes, poses an even greater threat to the free world. His self-belief in his dictatorial rights and his personal ego, surrounded as he is by a fawning coterie of admirers, means that none of us can sleep easy in our beds. And the response of the rest of the world? 'Yes, Mr Trump' (and it doesn't matter about the question). – Yours, etc, T GERARD BENNETT, Bunbrosna, Co Westmeath. Sir, – There is no evidence to prove that Iran's nuclear development programme was on the verge of creating a nuclear bomb – or that Iran intended to ever create one. The US has entered the war on the basis of a lie – just like the lie about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As a consequence, the world is a more dangerous place, and Israel can do what it wants in Gaza because Gaza is no longer headline news. – Yours, etc, CHRIS FITZPATRICK, Terenure, Dublin 6. Sir, – The recent US and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure – including the Fordow nuclear facility – represent a clear success. While echoes of Desert Storm are hard to ignore, this is no copycat conflict. Then, a crumbling dictatorship was flattened after weeks of preparation. Now, a theocratic regime faces targeted precision strikes – and still claims to speak for the Islamic world. Iran calls itself a republic but functions more as a clerical state. Since 1979, it has ruled through fear and martyrdom, pioneering the suicide bomber through the warped logic that 'martyrdom' is not suicide. It has bankrolled Hezbollah, funds Hamas, and propped up Assad in Syria. The Iran nuclear deal of 2015 is dead. Trump pulled out in 2018. The current operation has roots in joint war games conducted under President Biden – another example of continuity in US-Israeli strategic planning. Iran now faces the full squeeze of American power, staged in the sort of geopolitical theatre that feels closer to pro-wrestling than diplomacy. What this moment reveals is the irrelevance of soft power. The EU lectures. The US strikes. And Ireland? We shout from the back of the room like a student union officer trying to go viral. Despite being the most pro-Palestinian government in our history, we're still dismissed as 'Zionist puppets.' No one's satisfied. Nothing gets done. Maybe it's time we stopped chasing applause and started confronting hard truths. – Yours, etc. JORDAN COLE, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Sir, – In the wake of the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, what rational actor in the Middle East region will not conclude that the only guarantee they have against future Israeli- US aggression will be to acquire their own nuclear arsenal as soon as possible? Rather than discouraging Iran, the air strikes will only serve to convince hardliners within the regime to develop nuclear weapons. In the meantime, while the world's media attention shifts away from Gaza, we should remind ourselves that the genocide there continues unabated with ongoing daily atrocities. – Yours, etc, TOMAS McBRIDE, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Nuclear disarmament Sir, – In her letter of June 21st, Mary Fitzgerald states she is not aware of any country disarming since the Non-Proliferation Treaty came into being on the early 1970s. Of course, there is one such country – Ukraine, which had the bravery and care for the common good to dismantle and disarm its nuclear arsenal. It has often been stated, in fact, that if it had kept them it would not have been invaded by Russia. A terrible repayment for doing the world such a service. – Yours, etc, ENDA SCANLON, Ennis, Co Clare. Damien Duff's Shels legacy Sir, – I was shocked to learn of Damien Duff's sudden departure from his position as manager of Shelbourne FC. His legacy as Shelbourne manager is multifaceted. He brought success back to the club after a couple of decades in the doldrums with the 2024 Premier Division title win. He has got Shelbourne back into Europe – a mouth-watering Champions League tie against Linfield awaits his successor. He has filled Tolka Park again – a heaving Riverside is in stark contrast to the empty one of just a few years ago. Then there's the boost to the league as a whole of having such a decorated and celebrated ex-player (two Premier League titles with Chelsea, and 100 Irish International caps). – Yours, etc, BRIAN QUIGLEY, Dublin 9. Alcohol labelling Sir, – Minister of State Alan Dillon is simply wrong when he says that delaying alcohol health-warning labels is not about undermining public health. ('TD says she hasn't drunk alcohol in over 13 years during impassioned plea to not delay health-warning labels,' June 20th). It is undermining public health. The current ministerial dialogue regarding re-examining the democratic Oireachtas decision and legislation to introduce alcohol health-warning labels is an outrageous dereliction of their duty. It prioritises alcohol industry profits over public health. Mr Dillon articulates alcohol industry themes when he says he is reflecting sequencing policy and protecting exports and jobs. Alcohol health-warning labels are a health issue, and are about improving health. Despite the enormous numbers of deaths, illness, crime and social harms of alcohol, most Irish citizens do not know or understand the risks of alcohol consumption. With this in mind, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act was passed unanimously by the Oireachtas in 2018. This Act included provisions to place alcohol health-warning labels on all alcohol products sold in Ireland. The regulations have been signed into law and are due to come into effect in May 2026, a decade after they were first proposed. Citizens, especially, are unaware of the huge cancer risks of alcohol. Alcohol causes seven types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancers, two of the most common in Ireland. Ireland has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in pregnancy in OECD, causing foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which affects up to 2 per cent of people, with lifelong harmful consequences. In my own professional life, I have cared for thousands of patients with alcohol-related liver disease, many of whom have died. The alcohol industry is simply driven by maximising profits. It denies the scale of alcohol harms and deaths. As stated by the World Health Organisation, the alcohol industry, with their conflict of interests, should have no role in public health and should stay in lane. There should be no deferral or stepping back from the introduction of alcohol health warning labels on May 26th 2026. It is a citizen's right to know the harms of the alcohol they consider consuming, and a key public health action. – Yours, etc, Prof FRANK MURRAY, Chair, Alcohol Action Ireland, Dublin. Sir, – So Minister of State Alan Dillon is the latest to support the call by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to re examine the health labelling of alcohol products. He joins many others, including Tánaiste Simon Harris, who was instrumental in passing the labelling issue in the alcohol Act. Mr Dillon said: 'I have a duty to defend the interests of Irish indigenous SMEs who are facing unprecedented global trade pressures'. Not a mention of having a duty to defend the rights of Irish citizens to be informed of some of the harms that alcohol can have on their health. I also have a duty and whereas I don't have the podium that politicians enjoy, I have a right to call you out and say: 'I know that anyone who puts profit before health needs to re-examine their conscience and not re-examine the alcohol health-labelling issue. – Yours, etc, JOHN HIGGINS, Ballina, Co Mayo. A tattoo can be for you too Sir, – Dr Pat McGrath (Letters, June 23rd) writes that tattoos were once the preserve of 'male prisoners, sailors and psychiatric patients'. As a member of a generation born on the 'wrong' side of the release of Tommy by The Who, I admit to still indulging in a bit of body art. It's cheaper than therapy, lasts longer than a haircut, and – unlike a mortgage –I can still get one. A well-worn tattoo offers a much more interesting point of engagement for the younger generation than concepts they cannot relate to, such as landlines or home ownership. Many tattoos commemorate loved ones, mark personal milestones and memories, or serve as a form of entertainment. Most have no meaning to the viewer at all. In an age of deepfakes, disappearing data, doom scrolling, and negligible attention spans, a tattoo might be the last permanent thing left in the world to call your own. Provided that it's not done in comic sans. – Yours, etc, ULTAN Ó BROIN, Co Dublin. Sir, – As a grandmother of eight, I decided, post-pandemic, to fulfil a long held desire to get a tattoo. I now have 10 very small tattoos on the inside of my wrists. Each one has a special meaning for me and they bring me joy. I have no regrets at all. – Yours, etc, LAURA O'MARA, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. RPZs and holiday lets Sir, – The logical outcome of last week's decision to make all of Ireland a rent pressure zone is to immediately shutter short-term rental accommodation in the country, as most of these are now required to have change-of- use planning permission to operate ('Thousands of holiday lets will need planning permission due to rent pressure zone changes,' June 18th). We trust the Government has made alternative accommodation arrangements for all those tourists and Irish holidaymakers who will now be hearing from their holiday-home hosts informing them that their accommodation is no longer available. We trust, too, that the Government is making arrangements to compensate all the small business owners – restaurants, craft shops, tourist attractions – who will see their earnings evaporate from the loss of those visitors. Or, perhaps, the changes to the RPZ legislation is just further disastrous faffing to distract from the Government's failure to meet its own home building targets? All of this as our tourist season is about to begin. – Yours, etc, ROBBYN SWAN, ÁINE McCARTHY-KENT, Co Waterford. MARY VAN SON, Co Kildare, AIDAN SHILLING Co Wexford, Kieran Flanagan, Co Clare, DENISE NOLAN, Co Wicklow. Infrastructure suggestions Sir, – In his column last week, Michael McDowell urged the Government to replicate a piece of legislation from 1925 which the fledgling Free State government enacted to build the massive Ardnacrusha electricity station on the Shannon. It covered the State financing of the project, the CPO-ing of land, construction of canals, and so forth. This is the way, he suggests, to overcome the administrative sclerosis blocking the construction of the north Dublin sewage treatment plant, the piping of water from the Shannon to Dublin, talked about for nearly 30 years, the building of vitally needed onshore and offshore wind energy farms, as well as key road and rail projects. Meanwhile, every Government member, from the Taoiseach down, and the heads of the various State infrastructural agencies (EirGrid, ESB, Uisce Éireann, transport agencies), acknowledge the dire consequences of not resolving these logjams, and the fact that the existing permitting systems are not for purpose. Last month, the Government launched its new accelerating infrastructure taskforce to underline this fact. But this will be little more than the latest episode of 'kicking the can down the road' unless the Government undertakes the kind of bold legislative initiative urged by Senator McDowell. So, could it happen? Well, last week, the Government was able to draft, pass, and have enacted, a Bill extending rent pressure zones to the whole country. Where there's a will, there's a way! – Yours, etc, STEPHEN O'B YRNES, Morehampton Road, Dublin 4. Remembering that summer Sir, – In tandem with your correspondent Michael Gannon (Memories of a summer solstice, Letters, June 21st) I too 'was among the many who had to traipse back to examination halls on Friday, June 27th, and Saturday, June 28th, to sit a repeat of the English and Maths exams' in 1969. In hushed tones, I have admitted that I was happy enough to have a second stab at the Maths papers, even if they had to be taken on a Saturday! The 'stolen papers' wasn't the only hardship visited upon us that year. Just as the cyclical post Christmas wind-up for June was beginning to gain momentum, secondary school teachers went on strike on Saturday, February 1st, 1969 for three weeks, causing considerable disruption, but especially in the mindset of us students. I often wonder how the challenges of the 'Class of 1969' would be dealt with in modern times. Looking back now, I am happy to say that I don't think a Covid-like compensatory inflation of my grades would have made any difference in my consequent and fulfilling working life. – Yours, etc, MAY FAHY, Newbridge, Co Kildare. Delighted to be an atheist Sir, – Watching arguments unfold among self-declared Christians about the decision to welcome a member of the LGBTQ+ community into their midst, I am delighted to be an atheist. No biblical orthodoxy prevents or hampers my extending love to people of all genders and sexualities. I will march in as many Pride parades as possible this year to show my support for my brothers and sisters in the trans community and all who celebrate the rich diversity of human life and love. If that consigns me to hellfire and brimstone, I'll take my chances. Love wins. – Yours, etc, BERNIE LINNANE, Dromahair, Co Leitrim. Dogs on the beach Sir, – The main problem in trying to restrict dogs from our beaches (Letters, June 21st) is that politicians seem unwilling to address the problem. Here in Greystones, on the beautiful South Beach, dogs are supposedly banned from one small patch in the summer, but on most days, dogs and their owners can still be seen there. Local councillors are unwilling to do anything about it as there are just too many dog-owner votes to be lost. Another beach along the front, the Cove, might sometimes be mistaken for a dog park. Joanne Hunt makes clear in her article ( 'Dog business has no business on the beach', June 21st) that dog poo contains a lot of dangerous pathogens and unfortunately un-picked up dog mess decorates our Greystones pavements, grassy areas and all the beaches. – Yours, etc, IGOR CUSACK, Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Delighted to be an atheist
Sir, – Watching arguments unfold among self-declared Christians about the decision to welcome a member of the LGBTQ+ community into their midst, I am delighted to be an atheist. No biblical orthodoxy prevents or hampers my extending love to people of all genders and sexualities. I will march in as many Pride parades as possible this year to show my support for my brothers and sisters in the trans community and all who celebrate the rich diversity of human life and love. If that consigns me to hellfire and brimstone, I'll take my chances. Love wins. – Yours, etc, BERNIE LINNANE, READ MORE Dromahair, Co Leitrim.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trump announces Israel-Iran have reached ceasefire deal
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a 'complete and total' ceasefire between Israel and Iran will come into force later tonight with a view to ending the conflict between the two nations. 'On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR',' Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. More to follow. – Reuters
