Letters to the Editor, June 5th: On immigration, trade union dues and red squirrels
Sir, – Michael McDowell ('
EU cannot ignore what's happening in Poland and the Netherlands
,' Opinion, June 4th) presents a cynical view of so called 'EU fragility' in the face of populism.
The real threat to European stability is not migration, but far-right nationalism and the failure of democrats to sufficiently oppose it.
EU immigration policy is being misrepresented by people like Mr McDowell. According to Eurostat, more than 72 per cent of non-EU immigrants of working age in the EU are employed, a figure that exceeds employment rates in many native-born populations.
These individuals are not a burden; they are essential to keeping European economies functioning, particularly in care, construction, and the service and transport industries.
READ MORE
Instead of platforming opposition to immigration, European leaders should be articulating an opposition to fascist ideologies now resurgent across the world.
The lesson of the 1930s was that appeasement emboldens extremists. Migration scapegoating is nothing less than cowardice in the face of this new fascism.
The EU faces a demographic crisis. Eurostat projects that by 2050 the EU's working-age population will shrink by nearly 50 million.
Without inward migration, welfare systems will become unsustainable. The only viable path forward is a managed migration system that upholds European values while addressing real economic needs.
Poland and the Netherlands may be warning signs, but not for the reasons Mr McDowell suggests. The real crisis is not federalism, but the failure to confront the anti-democratic forces undermining it from within. – Yours, etc,
DECLAN DOYLE,
Kilkenny.
Whither the weather?
Sir, – In this time of world chaos and such turmoil, I was comforted in my bed early this morning listening to the weather forecast to hear that the showers heading in our direction in the Northwest were organised as opposed to scattered as predicted elsewhere in the country.
We always knew we were different up here in Donegal and as regards the weather can we speak urgently with the organiser? – Yours, etc,
JOHN O'CONNELL,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
Paying trade union dues
Sir, – The trade union Fórsa has called on the Government to 'require workers who benefit from salary deals . . . to pay dues or subscriptions [to trade unions] even if they are not members' in order to prevent them from 'free-riding' on the benefits of those deals ('
Public sector union calls for non-members benefiting from salary deals to be forced to pay dues
,' June 2nd).
The obvious question is, if the Government was to effectively force workers to join trade unions, then why stop there?
Should people also be forced to donate to Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, to prevent them from 'free-riding' on government decisions which they benefit from? Or what about forcing people to join a church and contribute to it, to prevent them from 'free-riding' on the prayers of others?
The possibilities are endless. Would Fórsa also support these outcomes?
Thankfully, we have a Constitution which protects freedom of association and prevents the State from forcing anyone to join or contribute directly to any private organisation.
The general secretary of Fórsa is paid €186,000 per annum, three times the average salary of the public sector workers who they want to force to fund its operations.
The suggestion that the Oireachtas should enforce some form of 'closed shop' to pay for this harks back to a time decades ago when trade unions expected, as of right, a 'cut' of any benefits gained by workers. – Yours etc
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Miracle required
Sir, – Stephen O'Sullivan reflects on the unhappy fate of 'people who have borne the title of 'tsar' in its myriad linguistic variations' (Letters, June 3rd). Among those he lists is Karl I of Austria-Hungary.
While his fate at the end of the first World War was indeed unfortunate, it seems that he enjoys the very best of what the afterlife has to offer, having been beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004 – and the cause for his canonisation is active.
Another miracle is required for his canonisation. Maybe we should pray to him to solve the housing crisis in Ireland. Interceding with him for that miracle would likely be more efficacious than appointing a 'housing tsar'. – Yours, etc,
FELIX M LARKIN,
Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
Funding the arts
Sir, – The recent controversy surrounding the Arts Council's €6.6 million spend on a failed IT project invites a deeper conversation – not only about financial oversight, but about how arts funding is structured in this country. Too often, when additional money flows into the sector, it's accompanied by a parallel growth in consultancy, compliance, and oversight roles. These positions are not always filled by those with lived artistic experience, and are rarely held to the performance standards expected in sectors like tech or finance.
The result? Those around the arts often prosper more reliably than those who actually make it.
While artists are frequently required to demonstrate tangible outcomes or community impact – sometimes before the work even exists – those in administrative or consultancy roles tend to operate with far less visible scrutiny.
Much of the current funding model treats art as product, not provocation or inquiry. The application process is often invasive, time-consuming, and artistically irrelevant – better designed to reward those fluent in institutional language than those pushing creative boundaries.
The hoops increasingly serve funders more than artists. One wonders whether Joyce or Stravinsky would have made it through.
If we are serious about supporting artistic excellence, we must start by trusting artists – with funding, time, space, and mentorship – and by acknowledging that not all valuable outcomes can be measured in neat reports or footfall figures.
If a growing share of arts funding is funnelled into administrative structures and underperforming consultancy contracts, while artists continue to struggle for basic support, then we're not just failing artists – we're failing taxpayers too.
Public investment in the arts should enable creation, not bureaucracy. – Yours etc,
YVONNE O'REILLY,
Terenure,
Dublin.
Killings in Gaza
Sir, – Just when we thought it could not get any worse, it does. Killing people who are desperate to secure food for themselves and their families is absolutely appalling and inhuman. One can only assume that this is the plan of the Israeli government, regardless of how they try to justify their behaviour.
There is no justification for what they are doing and the international community needs to demand they stop and then hold the Israeli government to account.
I suspect that the vast majority of the Israeli people would not support what is happening in Gaza. Unfortunately, they do not see what we see on a daily basis. Of course, we all condemn what happened on October 7th 2023 and we want all the remaining hostages to be released.
However, what happened does not and cannot justify what the Israeli government is doing. The US also needs to step up in defence of innocent children, women and men.
Their silence is deafening and it is giving the Israeli government the support they need to keep doing these terrible and inhuman acts. – Yours, etc,
PAULA MOLLOY,
Dublin 13.
Use of word 'mongrels'
Sir, – I would like to respond to your online headline of Saturday, May 31st, which quotes Prof Bríona Nic Dhiarmada – 'We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels'.
The first settlers of Ireland, Western European hunter-gatherers from approximately 8000 BC, were few and were eventually absorbed by Neolithic farmers arriving from 6000 years ago.
That small population was in turn replaced by Bronze Age settlement starting around 2500 BC. There is genetic evidence to suggest the farmers were overwhelmed by the metallurgists.
Around 80-85 per cent of Irish males carry the R1b-M269 haplogroup from this Bronze Age settlement. This is a simplified example from the hugely complex area of study on genetic variation in Ireland, but nonetheless it is true.
Later invasions by Vikings, Anglo-Normans, the English plantations, and normal migration have had modest effects on genetic continuity from the 4500-year-old Bronze Age settlements of Ireland.
Distinct ancestral genetic contributions noted among the Japanese population, or the Egyptian population, as random examples, would not lead, I hope, to their people ever being described as mongrels.
A wholly homogeneous tribe would be extremely rare on earth, but that doesn't stop us recognising and respecting other people's tribal ethnicities.
While the Irish have happily welcomed many to our land, it must be noted that geographical placement and low ancestral mobility has meant that, contrary to the rather startling descriptors used in your headline, we have been for at least four millennia a relatively homogenous, indigenous people. – Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE CALLERY,
Blacklion,
Co Cavan.
Sir, – As an Irish woman, I am deeply offended and appalled by the use of the derogatory term 'mongrels' in reference to the Irish people. This language is not only disrespectful but entirely inaccurate.
The author of the article in question appears to have a misguided understanding of Irish history.
Attempting to portray the Irish as 'mongrelised' – whether as a verb or adjective – is an unacceptable distortion of our heritage.
This kind of narrative constitutes a form of historical revisionism that seeks to manipulate public perception and undermine national identity.
I strongly urge you to retract this article and replace it with an accurate and respectful representation of Irish history.
Our people deserve to have their past told truthfully and with dignity. – Yours, etc,
NIAMH HEVERIN,
Co Mayo.
Forensics and fires
Sir, – Your article on the tragic deaths in a Connemara house fire
('Former US death row inmate dies in Connemara House Fire
', June 4th), refers to 'a forensic examination being carried out'. Also included is 'the results of the postmortems, along with the findings of the technical examination, will determine the course of the Garda investigation'.
This would appear to relate to a possible criminal investigation.
But what if there was no criminality involved?
Will the public ever be informed of the cause of the fire so that preventive measures can be taken to avoid any recurrence?
Many house fires involving fatalities take place in our country each year, but helpful information gleaned from follow-up investigations rarely finds its way into the public domain.
Yours, etc,
EAMON O'FLYNN,
Merrion Road,
Dublin 4
Walkway economics
Sir, – It has been calculated that the estimated economic impact on Bray and Greystones of the closure of the 7km cliff walk is an annual reduction in spending of ¤18.4 million.
Does this mean our failure to open a 250km coastal walkway from Carlingford to Rosslare is causing a ¤657 million reduction in spending, That would be a total ¤2.6 billion spending reduction over four years.
I suspect this idea of a new walkway will be like my new theory of inertia, it just won't gain momentum. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT O'ROURKE,
Lucan,
Dublin.
Tomb of Mary O'Connell
Sir, I refer to the piece by Justine McCarthy on the tomb of Mary O'Connell on Abbey Island, Derrynane (Opinion, May 30th).
As a member of the O'Connell family, we fully agree that the tomb needs restoration and are actively engaged in this task.
Work was commissioned over a year ago before being halted in consultation with the OPW on the technical details on the best way to approach such restoration. Indeed, we are in the process of taking advice from various experts who are experienced in this type of project, including advice from the Glasnevin Trust.
Funding is not the issue. We would wish this process to go much faster and I take responsibility for its tardiness. Unfortunately, it is turning out to be more complex than a bike shed!
This is both a historic monument and a family resting place for my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other members of my family through the ages. Indeed, my wife and I hope to join them in the (hopefully) distant future.
We are inordinately proud of the women in the family, including both Mary and The Liberator's grand mother, Mháire Ní Dhuibh O'Donoghue, and their own contributions to Irish history as well as my mother, Dr Una O'Connell, who was an early pioneer as a female consultant in the NHS.
I have a great deal of respect for Justine's journalism and her many excellent articles. However, it would have been preferable not to use a family grave for an article about respect of women, however commendable such an objective.
I was also surprised that the Liberator's active promotion of women's rights was not mentioned but that is for another (soon) day. – Yours, etc,
DANIEL O'CONNELL,
Great, great, great grandson of the Liberator,
Co Kerry.
Squirrel spotting
Sir, – Noting recent correspondence about red squirrels, one place where they may be found is the churchyard of St Luke's in Formby, near Liverpool, which is also the burial place of Percy French.
Visiting his grave, I have often sat quietly on a bench and watched them - far more appealing than their ubiquitous grey relatives. – Yours, etc ,
PAUL GRIFFIN,
Liverpool.
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