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Irish Independent
5 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.
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: In this hopeful month for children, slaughter in the Holy Lands sadly persists
Isn't it therefore a sobering thought that on the other side of the world in the Holy Lands, children are suffering unbearably. Literal war is being waged on their unqualified right to joy, their absolute right to hope. The fear of bombardment and food shortages plagues the children of Palestine. The terror of missile strikes and other attacks plagues the children of Israel. The fear of further conflict plagues the children of Lebanon and Syria. Isn't it a terrible irony that such conflict should occur in a region synonymous with the gentle phrase 'peace be with you'? Isn't it a terrible irony that such terror should arise in the region where Jesus the peacemaker was born? And isn't it a terrible, terrible irony that such unbounded darkness should consume this hopeful month of May? All children, regardless of identity, deserve peace. They deserve joy. They deserve hope. I appreciate our Government's work to address this tragic situation. Let us all hope that they and their partners will continue to work for peace and justice in the Holy Lands, so that children may have peace, joy and hope. Tadhg Mulvey, Trim, Co Meath More must be done to end the genocide of so many young in Gaza by the IDF Why are our world leaders, with a few exceptions, standing shamefully aside when Israel is piling death, destruction and torturous hunger on innocent children in Gaza without purposeful condemnation and reaction? The latest slaughter of nine of a doctor's children in Khan Younis is abominable. A doctor saving lives as her children are being destroyed because of the madness of men such as Israeli prim minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hamas leaders. We are very familiar with the slogan 'Free Palestine' but it is absolutely useless when genocide is at play. We need to do better and 'Save the children of Gaza' for our own salvation. Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18 How many more mothers must bury their children before cruelty is halted? Gaza is currently witnessing a mass slaughter. At the weekend, a paediatrician lost nine of her children in Israeli bombardment on civilian homes. Each story we hear from the Palestinian enclave is harrowing. The air is filled with helplessness, hopelessness and desperation. There can be nothing worse than seeing your children wrapped in white shrouds, ready for burial. How many Palestinian mothers need to mourn their children before the international community halts this cruel contempt of humanity? Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London Let's hope women's Gaelic games will have no more international ignominy Footage from last Saturday's Senior Camogie Championship games indicate the 'harmonious implementation' of the new rule change pertaining to player dress code. Interestingly, Reuters, one of the world's largest news agencies, which had been following the 'clash of the skorts and the shorts' all along, carried immediate news of the outcome of last Thursday's Camogie Associations Special Congress, headlined: 'Ireland's Camogie Association votes to allow players to wear shorts.' Such an international 'profile' potentially added a further shade of crimson to an already embarrassing situation that was entirely avoidable. It should be acknowledged, once player intent became obvious, that the issue was addressed reasonably expeditiously and especially so in the context of the traditional and sedentary character of the GAA and its 'powers that be'. Let's hope that the ongoing, snail-paced, integration process between the GAA, the Camogie Association and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) will not require another ignominious spectacle to get the process completed. Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny It's only a matter of time before Trump backs down from his latest trade guff US president Donald Trump has re-escalated his trade threats, targeting both imports from the entire European Union and hitting smartphone giant Apple, sending the global market into a state of turbulence after weeks of de-escalation had provided some reprieve. Trump says he wants a 50pc tariff on EU goods from June 1. I am just wondering how long it will take him to back down if he does go ahead with these punitive tariffs. When the Chinese stood up to Trump, it was noticeable how quickly he backed off. One could argue that Trump is flying this kite in order to manipulate the markets for his billionaire cronies before backing down. John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Celebrities should do themselves and everyone else a favour by staying out of politics It seems to me that far from being annoyed by 'celebrities' endorsing his opponents, Donald Trump should invite them to the White House for helping his re-election. I can't think of anything more likely to turn people off than being lectured and talked down to by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bono and the usual suspects from Hollywood. One would have to ask why was Bono interfering in the internal affairs of another country anyway? Of course we get the usual appeals to freedom of expression. Fair enough. But freedom of expression is a two-way street. When Trump dares to exercise his, the self-righteous indignation of his adversaries rings hollow and is less than convincing. As for the celebrities themselves, they ought to take the advice of eminent actor Anthony Hopkins. He scrupulously avoids revealing his political preferences on the basis that 'why I should I antagonise at least half of my audience?'
