Journalists

Letters to the Editor: 'Another referendum is the honest thing for UK to do' 

I would like to make some comments regarding John Downing’s article, ‘Neither Ireland nor the EU blinked as the UK lost out – but are we blinkered?’ (Irish Independent, March 13).

Letters to the Editor: 'Why we can't trust Britain over any of its agreements' 

Do not be surprised if Britain discards the recent agreements made with the Irish Government. It has a record of discarding agreements, some of which are set out as follows.

Letters to the Editor: May's unpalatable new Brexit deal simply can't be sweetened 

Andrew Stephenson MP's tweet of his box of ghastly doughnuts for the 8am Downing Street whips' office meeting encapsulates Theresa 'Groundhog' May's whole disgusting 'new' Brexit deal and 'guarantees' from the EU: full of holes, half-baked, an extremely poor substitute for something more substantial, the more of it swallowed the more nausea it induces.

Letters to the Editor: 'Political goodwill seems to be lacking to help those in North' 

Why are the people of the North of Ireland still being held to ransom by DUP politicians and continually waiting now over two years for a power-sharing executive and devolved assembly to be reinstated at Stormont?

Letters to the Editor: 'Censoring Jackson's music shows democracy is at risk' 

In light of the recent alleged abuse case being made against Michael Jackson, this has shed light on a darker underbelly of what we call "democracy".

Letters to the Editor: 'Lessons of history should be remembered in Brexit talks' 

Reading the letters page in the Irish Independent, there is a sense of deep vitriol being directed personally against the beleaguered Theresa May, for instance ‘The only thing May has achieved is the title of worst British prime minister there’s ever been’ (March 16).

Letters to the Editor: 'Say no to racism, no to hurt; yes to love, yes to friendship' 

When racists and hatred briefly takes over the good people of this world say: “No”. We say no to your racist bile, no to hurt and pain.

Letters to the Editor: 'Let’s hope Schmidt is playing the long game for World Cup' 

A piece of genius from Joe Schmidt. His plan? Simple. Play poorly in the Six Nations and then arrive at the World Cup as underdogs, and walk away with the Webb Ellis Cup.

Letters to the Editor: 'Emigrants celebrate home' 

Sir - As Saint Patrick's Day rolls around once again, does our national saint's feast day mean more to those of us who remained at home - or to those who emigrated from our shores in their hundreds of thousands during the recession of the lost decade?

Letters to the Editor: 'The only thing May has achieved is the title of worst British prime minister there’s ever been' 

The emollience of the UK has now been vehemently tested by Theresa May and her total intransigence since the electorate gave her a mandate to leave the EU back in the summer of 2016.

Letters to the Editor: 'Language lessons for us all' 

Sir - Well done to Colm O'Rourke for his incisive analysis of the current state of the Irish language (Sunday Independent, March 3).

Letters to the Editor: 'B&B owners show that if you take the bull by the horns, you’re able to put any problem to bed' 

The letters page is mainly for serious national and international issues, but there is usually room for the light-hearted story - and this is a true one.

Letters to the Editor: 'Bradley's ignorance on the Troubles shows double-think' 

Ireland should never publicly opine on British cabinet appointments.

Letters to the Editor: 'Many British MPs seem to put their own agendas first' 

Your editorial ('Wise words needed to avoid 'reopening gaping wound'', Irish Independent, March 5) has missed the crucial fact that the Taoiseach does not hold a magic wand to solve the nefarious impacts of Brexit, and that the British government holds primary responsibility to do that.

Letters to the Editor: ''Embracing diversity' will just make everyone the same' 

The Government, which has shown itself to be hostile to Catholicism, has commissioned a report that unsurprisingly seeks to remove religious symbols such as crucifixes from hospitals.

Letters to the Editor: 'Passion will liberate our players to conquer France' 

The commentators behave like lemmings: running headlong into a sea of oblivion because of some poor performances by the Irish rugby team.

Letters to the Editor: 'House blockers? Silly us for looking after ourselves' 

I fully agree with the letter by Margaret Docherty (‘Working hard to buy your own home doesn’t involve luck’, Letters, February 26). Being among the group who paid 18pc mortgage interest and 65pc income tax, we are now viewed as ‘house blockers’ (if hospitalised, we would be bed blockers).

Letters to the Editor: 'Working hard to buy your own home doesn't involve luck' 

One statistic that screams out is that 66pc of people over the age of 65 want to remain in mainstream housing, which seems to mean their own homes.

Letters to the Editor: 'Hero worship should be for the few, not the many' 

It all began with 9/11, I think, and has grown globally beyond the bounds of sanity since then. I refer to the practice of doing one’s job and giving to this the air of heroism and self-sacrifice.

Letters to the Editor: 'No-deal Leo guilty of a Brexit gamble' 

Sir — Brexit and the imminent prospect of a hard border on this island is far too serious an issue for the games of brinkmanship we have seen on both sides of the Irish Sea recently.

Letters to the Editor: 'Not quite the political animals we were expecting from Brexit' 

On Tuesday night, March 28, 2017, the British prime minister signed Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to trigger the Brexit process of withdrawing from the EU.That's nearly 660 days ago. 

Letters to the Editor: 'Nuns did their best on sex education in a different time' 

Anthony O’Leary makes some valid points about the role of nuns in educating children about sex (‘Nuns failed in their duty to provide proper sex education’, Letters, Irish Independent, February 20).

Letters to the Editor: 'Tory party needs its own split to be free of zealots in ERG' 

What is the European Research Group (ERG)? Sounds like something academic, right? Wrong. It is a lobbying group for Brexit with a disingenuous title.

Letters to the Editor: 'Common sense and a Brexit committee can solve impasse' 

Throughout the Brexit and backstop debate, the tactic, now nearly ubiquitous in all debates about anything, is to label those with a different opinion as racist, sexist and/or ignorant. No true Scotsman would be for Brexit, and they are obviously ignorant says the courtier. If you can acknowledge that the other side may not be evil, and may have a valid argument, then common...

Letters to the Editor: 'Children should continue the climate crusade at weekends' 

Greta Thunberg’s idealism is hard not to admire (‘Take action on climate, children urge politicians’, Irish Independent, February 14).

Letters to the Editor: 'Our forgotten heroes' 

Sir - I refer to the article by Mary O'Rourke titled 'Mystery of the woman forgotten by Irish history' (Sunday Independent, January 27).

Letters to the Editor: 'Brexit has opened up all the old paranoias in North – and know-nothing Tories are to blame' 

'Paranocracy' is the term used to describe Northern Ireland by Dr Colin Kidd, Professor of History at University of St Andrews, and Dr Ian McBride, Professor of Irish History at Oxford, in a joint article in the current edition of the 'New Statesman'.

Letters to the Editor: 'Church should go back to the spiritualism of its past' 

Thanks to all for the important discussion on spirituality. At the 1850 Synod of Thurles, called by Archbishop Paul Cullen, he ordered: “That priests were to wear black, or dark clothes; keep their distance from the people, and declared ‘war’ on all Pagan and Celtic religious (spiritual) practices.”

Letters to the Editor: 'We must all be invested in lowering carbon footprints' 

We must all be invested in lowering carbon footprints

Letters to the Editor: 'Do the right thing, minister, and let nurses do their jobs' 

As someone who was a union official for 30 years, I would like to offer my best wishes and support to the nurses/midwives presently on strike.

Letters to the Editor: 'Children’s Hospital scandal isn’t big enough to sink FG' 

Fianna Fáil is ramping up pressure on Health Minister Simon Harris by personally targeting his age and “lack of life experience” as the hospital controversy escalates.

Letters to the Editor: 'My answer to the NCH fiasco comes for cut-price fee of €15' 

Having heard PwC is to receive a world-class fee of €450,000 to tell us why the cost of the world-class National Children’s Hospital went from €650,000,000 to over €1,730,000,000, I decided to get out my trusty old slide rule and submit a cost-effective alternative report to the Government.

Letters to the Editor: 'If only Hume was still showing way' 

Sir - I read with interest Willie Kealy's article (Sunday Independent, February 3) where he described accurately the work of the SDLP, with John Hume at the helm, through the difficult years in Northern politics.

Letters to the Editor: 'The people of Ireland know nurses are striking to achieve a better health service for everyone' 

I'm a nurse 'recovering' from a week of night duty. I'm a member of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and totally support the strike. I think the people of Ireland, deep down, know the nurses had no choice but to call a halt.

Letters to the Editor: 'Despite their assurances, we shouldn’t naïvely trust EU' 

There is a line from William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, “the lady doth protest too much, methinks”.

Letters to the Editor: 'Forgotten election was seismic event in shaping our future' 

Congratulations to RTÉ on the documentary series ‘The Irish Revolution’, which started on Monday. In the first episode, the narrator informed us that Britain “rejected the democratic mandate of the Irish people”, as clearly expressed in the 1918 election. It is rare to hear this simple fact of history so boldly stated.

Letters to the Editor: 'New waste crackdown is like a return of the Poor Laws' 

Is that why the Government spent that staggering €38m on the Eircode system ("'Bin garda' to crack down on households that don't dispose of their waste properly", Irish Independent, February 4)?

Letters to the Editor: 'Policy to have reserve doctors on call needs to take flight' 

As a non-consultant hospital doctor working on an acute medicine service in one of Ireland’s largest hospitals, I salute the efforts of my nursing colleagues as they continue to expose the fundamental failings of our dysfunctional healthcare system.

Letters to the Editor: 'Fitting tributes to Luke Kelly, one of our greatest traditional musicians' 

Luke Kelly was one of our greatest traditional singers as both a member of the legendary Dubliners and a solo performer.

Letters to the Editor: 'Parental life lesson poetry' 

Sir - As we parents sit in the empty nest, I must congratulate Brendan O'Connor (Mid-life Crisis, Living, Sunday Independent, January 17) on a powerful piece on his moment. No need to go to classes on mindfulness, he said it all.

Letters to the Editor: 'Brexit is reopening Ireland’s terrible beauty of ancient hurt and alienation within our shores' 

Brexit has unglued our island, cursing the hope built into our cross-Border institutions, spitting on our fragile peace process.

Letters to the Editor: 'DUP actions show it’s clearly willing to destroy Good Friday Agreement' 

As an Irish citizen who voted to remove Articles 2 and 3 from the Irish Constitution as required for the approval of the Good Friday Agreement, I feel a great sense of betrayal when I hear Brexiteers, especially DUP politicians, maintain that Brexit has no relevance to the agreement, when this is patently not the case.

Letters to the Editor: 'We have been warned about ‘deceitful promises’ and history repeating itself' 

In a pamphlet written by William O'Brien in 1921 he traces the responsibility for partition. He was one of eight members of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) who from 1914 issued warnings to the House of Commons, "raucous with the jeers and derision of Ireland's own so-called representatives". I can do no better than repeat from O'Brien's 10-page foreword the most salient points he made. He...

Letters to the Editor: 'Men who claim ‘right’ to violence can learn from McGuinness and Adams' 

Yet again, the imaginary line between the 'six counties' and the '26 counties' of the island of Ireland looms large in the narrow minds of the die-hard men of violence, waiting in the shadows.

Letters to the Editor: 'Brexit poses grave threat to rights of Irish citizens now living in the North' 

I was born in Manchester (England), my parents were both Irish, economic migrants from Ireland in the 1950s, and I have held an Irish passport all my life.

Letters to the Editor: 'Hard Border looks inevitable – and a united Ireland poll now seems likely' 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's recent interview on Bloomberg TV on the effects of a no-deal Brexit on Ireland has seemingly drawn criticism from all sides of the debate.

Letters to the Editor: 'Lay off Warnock and back our neighbours' 

Sir - As a regular reader of the Sunday Independent's sports coverage, I was disappointed by Eamonn Sweeney's article on Neil Warnock's recent comments on Brexit (Hold the Back Page, Sport, Sunday Independent, January 20). It was yet another example of the stereotyping of pro-Brexit advocates as xenophobic. There is nothing xenophobic in the quoted comments of Warnock, rather he voiced a frustration with government from abroad.

Letters to the Editor: 'Don’t let Oscar nods fool you, ‘The Favourite’ manages to be both pretentious and tedious' 

'The Favourite' has received a warm welcome from the critics, and its recent nomination in 10 Oscar categories seems a natural extension of that critical estimate. I saw it some days ago, and was very much looking forward to a treat at the cinema.

Letters to the Editor: 'Anti-Brexit cross-community group could stand up for North in election' 

One of the possible consequences of the continuing political deadlock at Westminster might be a snap general election in Britain.

Letters to the Editor: 'Fine Gael should be embarrassed by record a century after the first Dáil' 

It must have been embarrassing for the Fine Gael TDs who attended the Mansion House commemoration of the first Dáil. President Higgins reminded the attendance of what Griffith and Collins felt was the first duty of the Government of the Republic, namely to make provision for the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of the children and secure that no child shall suffer from...

Letters to the Editor: 'Question is not what can the EU do for us, but what can we do for EU?' 

Elections to the European Parliament are due to be held this year and it is very important the electorate takes them seriously and focuses on the real issues that affect the community as a whole and vote only for candidates that have the interest of Europe at heart.

Letters to the Editor: Never mind the Brexiteers – we get it just as wrong by stereotyping the EU 

In her comment ('It's embarrassing to watch us stereotype Brexiteers', Irish Independent, Saturday, January 19), Professor Patricia Casey warned of the threat of 'crass stereotyping' to our openness, and of it suffusing our relation with Britain.

Letters to the Editor: Hogan's arrogance reveals EU wish to kill a people's democratic choice 

In typical, arrogant fashion, EU Commissioner Phil Hogan called for UK Prime Minister Theresa May to row back on "her red line" of leaving the customs union (Irish Independent, Comment, January 19). It is not Mrs May's red line but that of the British people that the UK leaves the European Union and with it the customs union.

Letters to the Editor: 'Boris is no sort of friend to Ireland' 

Sir - If the attitude of mind depicted in Niamh Horan's article (Sunday Independent, January 13) on Boris Johnson and depicting him as the "next prime minister of Britain" prevails, there is not much optimism to be had about the political or economic future of these islands - see articles by Dan O'Brien and Colm McCarthy on the same day.

Letters to the Editor: 'It’s not a hard concept – we want out of EU now' 

Some of us don't agree with Theresa May on everything, but around 17.4 million people explicitly agree with her over Brexit. In June 2016, the UK unashamedly voted to leave the EU by 52pc to 48pc.

Letters to the Editor: 'Politicians in no-man’s land never knew what they wanted from Brexit' 

Your otherwise cogent reporting on Theresa May's humiliation in the House of Commons vote on Tuesday ('Humiliation for May after huge Brexit deal defeat', Irish Independent, January 16) contains one surprising comment and one white elephant in the room.

Letters to the Editor: 'MP being forced to delay C-section shows how low UK politics has sunk' 

Commentators have said that Theresa May's defeat in her Brexit deal is humiliating.

Letters to the Editor: 'Irony of Brexit is how ‘taking back control’ has brought UK such chaos' 

‘12 RULES for Life: An Antidote to Chaos’, Jordan Peterson’s book published by Penguin Random House, is as relevant to political conflicts like Brexit as it is to the individual to whom it is addressed.

Letters to the Editor: 'Nuns looked after ‘hard cases’ at a time when our governments did not' 

I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Kelly’s article (‘Constant negative screen portrayal of our priests and nuns as pantomime villains is lazy and unfair,’ Comment, January 11).

Letters to the Editor: 'Varadkar and his ministers should show respect for our culture here' 

In a recent visit to a section of a famous ancient Ethiopian monastery where "men only" are allowed, high ranking female officials who were travelling with the Taoiseach had to remain outside the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion monastery.

Letters to the Editor: 'There will have to be checks, and it hurts' 

Sir - Nobody in the UK seems capable of cutting through the hubris of Brexit. You cannot run with the hares and hunt with the hounds simultaneously. If you have different customs and different standards in place between the EU and the UK, there will have to be checks to protect the integrity of their respective customs and standards.

Letters to the Editor: 'Minister is lining the pockets of management consultants and advisers in over-bloated HSE' 

Health Minister Simon Harris wants to throw away €75,000 for yet another adviser (don't forget to add the VAT!) to "carry out qualitative exploration of current perceptions of the key issues and priorities among general public and stakeholders", with the aim of facilitating senior management in devising a communications plan to "identify and prioritise communications activities by audience,...

Letters to the Editor: 'Tory Brexiteers fantasising about a return to days of ‘splendid isolation’' 

In the last quarter of the 19th century, British foreign policy was dominated by Lord Salisbury, who pursued a policy known as 'splendid isolation'.

Letters to the Editor: 'DUP needs history lesson to see how dispensable the Irish are to Britain' 

The DUP is now describing the Brexit backstop as poison, as though its existence is preventing them from reaching some kind of nirvana with other Brexiteers in a brave new world. They would do well to learn a few lessons from history.

Letters to the Editor: Nollaig na mBan in Mayo reminded us why all is very well in the world 

My good wife and I treated ourselves to an overnight stay in one of Westport's hotels over the Nollaig na mBan weekend. It was a delightful, lovely visit. It was as if the shackles of Christmas were finally thrown off and everybody was very relaxed.

Letters to the Editor: Here’s one way US could yet trump China on the dark side of the moon... 

It was in a Kilkenny pub that I heard about China's great cosmological breakthrough in landing a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. I honestly thought it was a joke, because I hadn't heard or read anything about the Chinese Space programme.

Letters to the Editor: 'Electric waffle a turn-off' 

Sir - It both confuses and amazes me to listen to so-called 'specialists' on electric motoring.

Letters to the Editor: 'Corbyn’s enduring failure on Brexit will see him divested of his leadership as abruptly as he got it' 

What extraordinary arrogance Jeremy Corbyn has in his resolute determination to exit the European Union while waving a red flag and denying the people of the UK a meaningful vote in a second referendum.

Letters to the Editor: 'Your capital has charm in spades – but it is dogged by one messy issue' 

It was our first visit to Dublin and Ireland and at Christmas. In the scheme of things, it was not a good idea. But, first, the positives:

Letters to the Editor: 'The taxing question – why is the State crippling businesses with a VAT hike?' 

The increased VAT rate for the hospitality and hairdressing sectors from 9pc to 13.5pc from January 1 will have an adverse effect on many small and medium-sized businesses across the State.

Letters to the Editor: 'Legal framework for abortion service is an insult to the women of Ireland' 

I am an Irish general practitioner. I am an elected member of the Irish Medical Council. I write to you as a doctor and as an Irish citizen, and I do not propose to represent the views of either of these institutions, however I wish to make the following points.

Letters to the Editor: 'Ten easy-to-follow tips for a Happy New Year and soul-nourishing 2019' 

Please may I give 10 simple resolutions to nourish the soul, mind and heart, by doing things that enhances our levels of happiness. As follows:

Letters to the Editor: No excuse to hunt whales 

Sir - What sickening news… that Japan is going to recommence the hunting of whales. Some Japanese, including, unfortunately, the ones with political clout, see it as part of their culture, and place great emphasis on this pathetic pretext for whaling when challenged about the ethics of the practice.

Letters to the Editor: 'Governments of all hues have reduced citizens to status of asylum seekers in their own land' 

I wish to compliment Trish Casey on her letter ('I'm one of tens of thousands the State has failed', Irish Independent, December 27).

Letters to the Editor: 'Sexton drop goal was single greatest score in international rugby history' 

I recently watched a re-run of Ireland's opening Six Nations match against France back in February and came to the conclusion that Johnny Sexton's drop goal must be the single greatest score in any international rugby match in history.

Letters to the Editor: 'I’m one of tens of thousands the State has failed through the housing crisis' 

I write this on Christmas Day. Last night at around 3am, I awoke to my own screaming.

Letters to the Editor: 'Crises facing our world are the fault of humankind, not God or religion' 

Since religion in Ireland and elsewhere has become discredited due to real abuses, it's important not to throw out the morality baby with the religious bathwater. Political systems and democracy are also deteriorating. It is not religion or democracy that causes the problems, but the abuses of religion and democracy.

Letters: Left close to tears as our main parties continue with their 'gift to the nation' 

The "contented and suckling agreement" shook on between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in recent weeks surely must be our politicians' greatest Christmas gift to the nation.

Letters to the Editor: Real message of the season 

Sir - So the festive season of Christmas is upon us, but what is it all about? Is it about all the intensive commercialism that takes place globally on a daily basis in the lead up to the holy season? Or is it about the true meaning - the birth of Jesus Christ?

Letters to the Editor: 'Brother Kevin is always there, unlike our TDs' 

We must thank Brother Kevin and all his helpers and benefactors at the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People.

Letters to the Editor: 'As we move towards no-deal Brexit, a big dose of cop-on is badly needed' 

We have learned in recent days that Brexit is already costing the British people £500m (€556m) a week, with the economy estimated to be up to 2.5pc smaller than if the referendum result had been different (Colette Browne, Irish Independent, December 19).

Letters to the Editor: 'We saw off British 100 years ago – now we have to bare our teeth again' 

It needs to be understood Brexit for the British is about regaining sovereignty. No amount of statistical prognostications about tariffs, trade, customs and so forth is going to deflect the English nation from regaining full control over their own destiny for the next hundreds of years.

Letters to the Editor: 'Our leaders could learn from May’s determination to represent the voters' 

While the Irish seem to have very long memories, particularly when it comes to our historical grievances and grudges, we have rather short memories when it comes to collective decisions for which we feel a tacit shame.

Letters to the Editor: 'Government must ditch its obsession with spin and tackle our real crises' 

Having listened to the news and read reports in daily papers over the past nearly eight years since the Fine Gael-led Government came into power, each year saw a marked disimprovement in our health services. Despite three different health ministers, it has deteriorated even further recently, so it appears pointless continuing with the present Government.

Letters: 'The winter solstice is a tradition that throws light upon the pagan in us all' 

The winter solstice on December 21 is the day of least daylight in the calendar year. For some astronomers, it marks the end of autumn and the beginning of winter.

Letters to the Editor: 'Don't forget unsung peace process heroes' 

Sir - I regularly applaud Eoghan Harris for his refusal to allow Sinn Fein have free rein in the media and regularly calls out those who seek to airbrush SF's very murky history and give it an easy ride that no other party could expect. Its current position also needs close watching, and we can expect Mr Harris to point this out, too.

Letters to the Editor: 'Fianna Fáil is part of a coalition so must share the blame for the health and housing issues' 

The renewal of the Confidence and Supply Agreement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael - done under the cover of Brexit - ensures a continuation of failed policies in housing and health.

Letters to the Editor: 'Brexit could be real opportunity for the North, if it’s allowed to take it' 

Yesterday's Irish Independent included an overdue realpolitik analysis by Dan O'Brien ('The backstop demand could end up bringing about that which it was designed to prevent').

Letters to the Editor: 'Mullinalaghta's win was no miracle - it was down to club's hard work' 

I am writing following Mullinalaghta's fantastic achievement of winning the club's and Longford's first Leinster football championship.

Letters: 'For the good of our country we need more - not fewer - civil servants' 

I think Richard Barton ('Public sector like broken gun - they can't be fired', Letters, December 6) should do a little more research before writing. His rant on public service workers was so full of inaccuracies, personal opinion masquerading as fact and calculated insults that I have to set the record straight.

Letters to the Editor: 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose.... hang on, is that gender stereotyping?' 

In light of the recent spate of political correctness being applied to several Christmas songs whose only crime was that they were not written yesterday, I attach notes on perhaps my favourite, 'The Christmas Song'.

Letters to the Editor: 'Christmas stamps are but sad stickers since An Post removed word ‘Nollaig’' 

An Open Letter to An Post...

Letters to the Editor: 'Blessed are the peacemakers' 

Sir - Tomorrow evening, December 10, former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major will be giving the inaugural Albert Reynolds Memorial Lecture in Longford.

Despite negative opinions about civil servants, they’re the ones who keep the show on the road 

In his reply to me (Letters, Irish Independent, December 6), Richard Barton trots out the usual list of generalisations, bar-stool anecdotes and half-baked analyses of the type beloved of the commentariat.

Letters to the Editor: 'Evolving policies as well as strong local leadership can save our towns' 

The front page headline of your newspaper ('Death of the town', Irish Independent, November 30) makes for disturbing reading. The report goes on to say that small-town Ireland is facing a "perfect storm'' which has torn the heart out of life on our main streets. It further states that a lack of local leadership and permitting out-of-town retail developments means that many rural towns across the...

Letters to the Editors: 'Kyne should lobby for GP expenses instead of ministerial hotel bills' 

Open letter to Minister Seán Kyne

Letters to the Editor: 'We need decisive leadership to tackle climate change – time is running out' 

Climate breakdown is the single greatest existential threat to life on Earth since an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The difference this time is that the asteroid is of our own making.

Letters to the Editor: 'Our total greed for consumer goods fans the flames of climate change' 

While the largest economies in the world, bar the US, come to some sort of agreement on global warming, should we as consumers take some responsibility for what's happening?

Letters to the Editor: 'Groucho knew the gift of reading would last long beyond Christmas' 

Groucho Marx, master of quick wit and caustic quip, said: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

Letters to the Editor: 'Politics, pirates, bees and raccoons - book them in' 

There will be those who will gift a book for Christmas and here are some which drew my attention this year. They shine a light on a part of history or political events today and topics of scientific concern like saving the bees.

Letters to the Editor: 'UK must work with Irish friends to build a society fit for all, not the elite' 

On Tuesday (November 27), two letters were published by the Irish Independent on Brexit.

Letters to the Editor: 'Sporting triumph shows great things can happen when politics is forgotten' 

"Rugby supporters at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday night were somewhat taken aback when faced with some prominent DUP members holding a petition urging the Ulster players on the Irish team to switch allegiance to England (or failing that to Wales or even Scotland).

Letters to the Editor: 'Domestic violence must be tackled as priority before more lives are ruined' 

Domestic violence must be tackled in all its forms, because not only do you have a victim, primarily women, but where children witness this violence then they too become victims.

Letters to the Editor: 'Horses for courses as bets on politics end with a loss' 

Reading some election discussions in the newspapers, I found that you could bet on election results in most countries. I, however, am more familiar with betting on horses and wonder what comparisons could be made between these two betting types.

Letters to the Editor: 'Just the work of cowards' 

Sir — The Haunting Soldier sculpture, right, marking the end of World War I and honouring the memory of all the decent, honourable, brave and courageous young men, from every country in the world, who fought, died or were injured in it — fighting for peace with justice, freedom and democracy for Europe and the whole world — was meant for all of us to value what these great people achieved for us.