Sir, – The debate following Catherine Connolly’s landslide victory at the weekend has become a row about the presidential nomination process. Two things can be true: some actors are exploiting the moment to advance their agenda, and the process may also be unnecessarily exclusionary.
That said, none of the alternatives proposed so far would strengthen democracy. Requiring 50,000 or 100,000 signatures to secure a nomination would risk inviting fraud, abuse and populism.
One of the few stabilising features of our Constitution is that anyone seeking the presidency must have an element of political support. It is not perfect, but it provides an important safeguard.
Those who now feel excluded from the system may be experiencing, perhaps for the first time, what many minorities have long felt, that their worldview is not always reflected in the choices before them at the ballot box. That is part of living in a tolerant, pluralist democracy.
RM Block
We should not be opposed to reform, or to a conversation about reform, but the current proposals are unworkable and risk undermining democratic stability.
What is needed is a Citizens’ Assembly to examine the nomination process and design a model that’s fair, functional, and fit for the next 100 years, one that protects both the presidency and the Republic.
Equality often asks those who have long held privilege to give something up, and that can feel uncomfortable. But discomfort is not oppression, and progress depends on our willingness to face it. – Yours, etc,
OISÍN O’REILLY,
Chief executive officer,
Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre,
Dublin 1.
Sir, – While the youth can have a wonderful energy for idealism, older people can have a wonderful energy for wisdom. Therein lies the mystery of election results. – Yours, etc,
MARY BARRETT,
Raheny,
Dublin.
Sir, – A letter in your paper recently said that a spoiled vote is akin to silence dressed up as action (October 22nd). Those espousing a spoiled vote should instead have energised the electorate to greater participation.
Some went so far as to thank voters for spoiling the vote by writing their names on the ballot paper.
If a name doesn’t appear as a candidate, then that fact should be graciously acknowledged leaving petulance to infants. It may have been preferable to have more alternatives but one must accept the options presented.
Caution must be exercised against the dilution of procedures enabling a candidate to run in future elections. If requirements are eased it may enable those, whose moral or ethical standards are anathema to our society to be approved as candidates.
The elected president may well be a figurehead but is nonetheless at the helm of our ship for seven long years or more. – Yours, etc,
GREGORY O’ CONNOR,
Portumna,
Co Galway.
Sir, – Tom Mc Elligott appears to chide the people who spoiled their vote in the presidential election and compares the exercise to a visit to a restaurant (Letters, October 29th).
I am quite sure there isn’t a restaurant in the developed or indeed the developing world where the customer is restricted to only two options on the menu.
Given the big issues facing the country, we deserved more choice and more than 200,000 voters thought so. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN Mc DONALD,
Terenure,
Dublin 12.
Collison’s solutions
Sir, – Thanks to John Collison for his contribution and analysis as to why we are stuck in a quagmire of delays (“Ireland is going backwards. Here’s how to get it moving”, Opinion, October 25th).
Will politicians please act to cut through the quango and Nimby obstacles – as Collison said, they have the power to take back control. – Yours, etc,
FERGUS DALY,
Cobh,
Co Cork.
Sir, – There are Trumpian echoes in John Collison’s call for strong political leaders to take back power from the processes and decisions of unaccountable officials and agencies who act to stifle development and progress.
Collison recognises that growth comes with problems but fails to analyse and understand the source of the problems.
Ireland is experiencing the many social and environmental costs of a deeply flawed economic development model that prioritises rapid, untrammelled economic growth.
In promoting this economic model, politics has become overly beholden to the demands of global corporate actors, prioritising their interests over those of citizens and of nature.
Collison is co-founder and president of a global private corporation and has strong links to the so-called tech-bros in the US. He is not an independent actor and his prescriptions should be treated with caution as the potential thin edge of a Doge wedge. – Yours, etc,
H Mc BRIDE,
Castlebar,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – John McManus was perhaps kind in characterising John Collison’s proposed solutions as “a little” naive (“John Collison seems to have missed a fundamental truth about Irish politics”, Opinion, October 29th).
His article comes far closer to identifying the core problem: “The Byzantine system we have created also insulates politicians from the consequences of their actions.”
I would, however, object to the “we” in that comment. It was our politicians who created and now maintain the system of power devolved to “agencies, state bodies and quangos” to which Collison objects, as well as the proportional representation that assures that politics remain local, which is McManus’s focus.
Democracy is hard work. We permit ourselves to be ruled by professional politicians, whose principal interest is often only being elected and re-elected. We must start governing ourselves, which is what having a Republic is all about. – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM HUNT,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.
Joint efforts on climate
Sir, – In 2015 former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said: “Climate change carries no passport and knows no national borders.” In the 10 years since, the international community has been criticised for not acting swiftly or coherently enough on the issue of climate change.
What has changed, and entered the public consciousness, is interest around the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Cop events. It is the Cop that galvanised the Friday’s for Future movement in 2018.
However, while the Cop events bring together nations to discuss the most significant issue of the 21 century, not all nations can fully engage, among these nations is Taiwan. Despite not being a full member, Taiwan has worked to fulfil the UNFCCC’s framework on a Nationally Determined Contribution to show its transparency in its carbon goals.
Taiwan has also set an ambitious path to achieve net zero by 2050 and worked to ensure every part of the Taiwanese government is working on individual climate mitigation plans.
Taiwan, like Ireland and every other country, will be affected by climate change.
All nations should be able to come together to work to avoid a worse-case scenario on the issue of climate change. – Yours, etc,
DANIEL DIANN-WEN TANG,
Taipei Representative Office in
Ireland,
Dublin 2.
Gaza truce under threat
Sir, – The Irish Times reported on its front page that the Gaza truce is under threat “as Israel struck targets ... in response to what it termed two significant Hamas violations” (World news, October 29th). The article quotes Israeli sources blaming Hamas for violating the ceasefire conditions.
Reporter Mark Weiss does not inform readers that Israel has repeatedly breached the ceasefire, and has killed at least 38 civilians in 47 attacks since October 10th.
The historical record is clear that previous ceasefires have overwhelmingly been broken by Israel.
In view of the Israel Defense Forces record of being economical with the truth, shouldn’t we treat what they say with scepticism? – Yours, etc,
TOMAS McBRIDE,
Letterkenny,
Donegal.
Casement expansion
Sir, – The news that the Government is to invest substantially in an expansion of Casement Aerodrome for the Air Corps seems like a missed opportunity (“€120m expansion plan for Casement Aerodrome to house growing Air Corps fleet”, News, October 29th).
Whilst a big investment in the Air Corps is required, an investment in Shannon would be more sensible. Over the last few years, the work of the Air Corps has been increasingly carried out on the western seaboard, whether that be search and rescue, assisting in tracking and intercepting drug smuggling, fishery protection or, most recently, monitoring Russian activity in the eastern Atlantic.
These functions would be better operated from a base in the west. This would also allow consideration for the use of Casement for civilian aviation as Dublin Airport comes under increasing pressure from passenger numbers. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN McMAHON,
Naas,
Co Kildare.
Responsible travel?
Sir, – Saturday’s article, “Lessons learned from visiting 59 countries”, is an echo-chamber of encouragement to those who continue to fly despite the climate crisis (Magazine, October 26th). Flying is a highly greenhouse gas-emitting activity.
With so much disinformation and misinformation around climate change on social media, we badly need newspapers that are truly “informed and responsible”. – Yours, etc,
C O’REILLY,
Dublin 18.
Linguistic inflation
Sir, – Thank you so much – as people insist on saying now, rather than the more proportionate “thank you very much” – to Frank McNally for highlighting the rise of linguistic inflation (An Irishman’s Diary, October 29th). His “one-year anniversary” examples sent me in search of further casualties. Within hours I heard a politician promise to “pre-book a pre-planning consultation”, and a gym advertisement urging us not merely to be “active” but “hyper-engaged and forward-moving”. Our adjectives now appear to arrive with personal trainers. At this rate, ordinary gratitude may soon require choreography. – Yours, etc,
ENDA CULLEN,
Armagh.
Cruelty to foxes
Sir, – As November approaches we are about to be reminded of our perennial love-hate relationship with foxes.
Across the country thousands of householders leave out scraps for these nocturnal visitors, who have their little meal and depart quietly.
People love to photograph them in their gardens, or at their front or back doors. During the Covid lockdowns they made themselves at home in largely deserted town and village centres, exploring terrain normally off-limits, at least in daylight.
So many people show kindness to this almost mythic creature, this wild red dog of the countryside.
But others go to extraordinary lengths to make them suffer. They arrange a pack of baying hounds, scores of men and women on horseback, and a cavalcade of four-wheel drives and scooters to participate in a drawn-out and well-choreographed attack on the animal. After hours of chasing and bowing of horns they catch up with the fleeing fox and, after the grizzly finale of this “rural pursuit”, the hunters retire to pubs and hotels to celebrate an afternoon’s supposed sporting achievement.
One doesn’t need to love foxes to be upset at this calculated attack on an animal that struggles to survive in the wild. – Yours, etc,
JOHN FITZGERALD,
Callan,
Co Kilkenny.
Sybil and Hyacinth
Sir, – One of many great conversations between Basil and Sybil Fawlty, played by the late, great, Prunella Scales, included Basil saying, “we used to laugh quite a lot”, to which Sybil replied: “Yes, but not at the same time, Basil.”
Fawlty Towers was a great comedy with a great leading lady and will be remembered with affection. – Yours, etc,
DENNIS FITZGERALD
Melbourne,
Australia.
Sir, – I was saddened to hear in recent weeks of the deaths of two “grandes dames” of British stage, film and TV: Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales. As their TV characters, Hyacinth Bucket (Keeping up Appearances) and Sybil Fawlty (Fawlty Towers) they provided great entertainment for many years. Now they have died, I guess Heaven will be transformed, with Sybil managing the check-in desk and Hyacinth organising her famous candlelight suppers. – Yours, etc,
TONY CORCORAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Quality reading
Sir, – I take only a passing interest in football, which means I support Liverpool but have never been to Anfield and only watch their biggest games on TV. But if I want to know what’s going on I always turn to Ken Early, whose expert analysis and lively writing are models of their kind. His report on the weekend’s El Clasico match between Real Madrid and Barcelona was nothing short of brilliant (“Clasico defeat lays bare Barcelona’s reluctance to learn from their mistakes”, Sport, October 27th). – Yours, etc,
WALTER ELLIS,
Plusquellec,
France.
No phones in bed
Sir, – The solution to Brian Kelly’s problem, caused by phones automatically updating the clock change, is simple (Letters, October 28th). Don’t bring your smartphone to the bedroom. I never do. I have a regular phone beside the bed in case of emergency and a small clock. – Yours, etc,
ANN FITZSIMONS,
Jigginstown,
Naas.
