Sir, – The Irish and British governments, and the EU, bend over backwards to ensure that the needs of Northern Ireland are included in negotiations on Brexit, trade, economics and in all other areas.
The Northern Irish people themselves continue to vote for the more extreme parties that take entrenched positions and are unable to run the country without outside help.
Sometimes I despair of the entrenched attitudes in Northern Ireland. Why do we bother?– Yours, etc,
AOIFE LORD,
Tankardstown,
Co Meath.
Sir, – How is it that the DUP could so speedily agree to support the alligators of the Tory party in forming a government and yet be unable to do the same with the gentler crocodiles in Stormont? Could it be they are hoping for someone to cough up another billion pounds to sweeten the deal? – Yours, etc,
GRAEME GUTHRIE,
Westport, Co Mayo.
Sir, – Gerry Moriarty accuses the North's politicians of kicking a "gift horse in the teeth" by not doing a deal to restore the Stormont institutions (Analysis, July 5th). He goes on to claim that the "talks collapsed amid impasse over law on Irish language" without offering any further comment on this assertion, despite the fact that the failure to implement the previously agreed Irish Language Act is only one of a number of rights-based issues at the heart of the current crisis.
But the main source of his ire seems to be that, in his view, the parties should be getting on with the business of spending the money secured by the DUP in return for propping up Theresa May’s ailing, pro-Brexit, pro-austerity government.
Apparently we should be prioritising cold hard cash over the denial of rights, which caused the collapse of the institutions.
Does he believe it is okay to turn a blind eye to discrimination providing the price is right? Because that is what he is advocating.
The reason there has not been a deal as yet is because people’s rights are still being denied, and Sinn Féin is not prepared to enter an Executive on that basis.
It doesn’t matter how much money is on offer.
These rights, whether they be Acht na Gaeilge, marriage equality or the rights of families to coroners’ inquests, are basic entitlements which are protected in law in this state.
The denial of these rights would not be tolerated elsewhere on this island and it should not be tolerated in the North.
But the fact is that the British government are prepared to facilitate this because they are in hock to the DUP.
Is The Irish Times also advocating that this denial of rights is facilitated? The same Irish Times that argued for an end to the very same discrimination in this State ahead of the marriage equality referendum in 2015?
You can’t have it both ways.
The price of a deal with the DUP in London was £1 billion. The price of a deal with the DUP in Belfast is discrimination.
It is only when that changes, when rights are respected and when both governments take their responsibilities seriously, that a new sustainable, credible Executive can be established. – Yours, etc,
CAOLÁN McGINLEY,
Derry.
Sir, – The only thing that Sinn Féin and the DUP would appear to agree on is that the Assembly’s 90 members should continue to receive their £49,500 annual salaries (“Assembly members must still be paid, say DUP and Sinn Féin”, July 5th). Well, at least they’ve reached a consensus on something. There’s a glimmer of hope for the future. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey, Co Dublin.
Sir, – Stop their pay. No show, no dough. – Yours, etc,
MARY BYRNE,
Bray, Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Dinosaurs v crocodiles, round three! – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN McKEOWN,
Carlingford,
Co Louth.