6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Letters: EU must do everything it possibly can to end the catastrophe in Gaza
As the nightmare in Gaza continues, it is increasingly clear that despite the noble efforts of some, more must be done to end this humanitarian catastrophe.
The people of Israel and Palestine have the unqualified and undeniable right to peace and happiness. The EU must do much more.
There are many levers at the EU's disposal. It is a powerful and influential entity with the ability to make a real difference and end this terrible conflict.
It must realise that by not taking stronger actions to stop the bloodshed, it is defying its founding principles.
It should strive for the noble goal espoused by Seamus Heaney of making 'hope and history rhyme' and pursue a path to a hopeful, lasting peace for both nations.
The EU is a wonderful conglomerate of nations that has served its people well. Let us hope it continues to do so by helping to end this conflict.
Tadhg Mulvey, Trim, Co Meath
Government is allowing the Central Bank to help fund Israel's war machine
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil last Thursday that the Israeli government is 'committing genocide in Gaza right now'.
He then made the extraordinary and entirely false statement that 'the Central Bank is not facilitating anything or approving bonds or anything like that'.
The Central Bank of Ireland is directly, and uniquely, facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds throughout the EU.
It has approved the State of Israel Bond Issuance Programme on a yearly basis since 2021. It is the sole authority for the sale of these bonds in the EU. It is listed on the Central Bank website under 'Approved Prospectuses'.
The Israel Bonds Prospectus, for its part, declares that it 'has been approved as a base prospectus by the Central Bank of Ireland as competent authority under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129'.
In the 16 months from October 2023 to January 2025, Israel raised $4.49bn through the sale of bonds across the EU. That is an average of $9.25m a day. Israel bonds are funding the blockade of Gaza, the starvation and bombardment of the Palestinian people and the murder of over 60,000 people in the besieged enclave, including 20,000 children.
Under the Genocide Convention, the Irish Government has a responsibility to act to prevent genocide. The Central Bank's role in facilitating the raising of these funds amounts to active state complicity in what the Taoiseach has admitted is genocide.
The Government must deal with the facts: abandon obfuscation and denial, honour its obligations under the Genocide Convention and stop the Central Bank from acting as the linchpin of Israel's fundraising machine in Europe.
Helen Mahony, Sutton Park, Dublin 13
Ukraine's destruction of Russian bombers gives us something to cheer about
While the politicians drone on at peace talks, the Ukrainian drones were on target. It seems unbalanced when €100 drones can take out billions of euro worth of Russian bombers, but most of the world is cheering.
There is truth in the David and Goliath story. Someone needs to translate it into Russian.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia
Fine Gael's delusion over housing woes has brought about the current crisis
The record homelessness figures announced in recent days warrant an examination of how we got here.
The Fine Gael-Labour coalition's 2013 decision to ban bedsits is undoubtedly an ideological own goal. Not that they weren't warned at the time, but a coterie of NGO experts knew best: 'Can't they move to a two-bed in Ranelagh like the rest of us?'
Equally, the 2014 tax changes made by Fine Gael finance minister Michael Noonan to property-based tax reliefs starved the sector of hundreds of millions of euro that were being reinvested in urban renewal and providing the very type of basic housing that prevents homelessness. The dereliction we see in 2025 is a result of those choices.
Ten years on, homeless people continue to wait for the perfect homes Fine Gael and Labour promised. Most of those responsible have left the stage, and those who remain are still deluding themselves on the merits of their policy choices.
If we ever build our way out of this problem, it will only be because we abandoned Fine Gael's housing and fiscal delusions.
Alex Wilsdon, Dublin Road, Kilkenny
In giving Joe Biden a free pass, the media may have helped Trump to victory
It's nice that the great and the good are held up to scrutiny by the media. Those in positions of power, in all walks of life, need to be held accountable for their actions.
It certainly cannot be said that the current occupant of the White House, Donald Trump, has not been subject to media coverage – which is as it should be. Sometimes this scrutiny can seem like overkill, but it's better than the alternative. Therein lies the problem. In contrast, Mr Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, was virtually given a free pass.
The recently published book, Original Sin, by journalists Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper, reveals a story of media collusion that doesn't reflect well on large elements of the 'fourth estate'. It was obvious to the most casual observer that all was not well with this man.
As it turned out, the whole thing backfired anyway. In retrospect, the cover-up helped no one apart from Donald Trump. Prophetic justice, perhaps.
Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath
Why I had to switch off from 'Housewife of the Year' documentary
I thought that I'd seen and heard it all, but not quite.
RTÉ prefaced the Housewife of the Year documentary with a content warning, and the opening scene featured the text of Article 41.2 – the same article whose proposed deletion was rejected by the electorate in a constitutional referendum in March last year. These two assaults on my sensitivities were far more than I was able for. I switched off.
