Letters to the Editor, July 5th: On doctors under attack, school admissions, and grand plans

Irish Times

a day ago

Sir, – Channel 4 deserves great credit for broadcasting Gaza: Doctors under Attack which was aired on July 2nd (the BBC having changed its decision on broadcasting it) – as do Basement Films for having made it, and all those who bravely contributed to it.
This powerful documentary should be shown on RTE – and made available on YouTube. Having said that, as a retired doctor, the documentary sickened me.
For those who didn't see it, Gaza: Doctors under Attack portrays how Israel has systematically targeted hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare workers in Gaza to purposely destroy 'the one thing that Palestinians need most: its healthcare system'.
Commencing with Gaza's main hospital, al-Shifa, and as shown by a UN Human Rights report in December 2024, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have used a standard sequence of assaults on all of Gaza's hospitals: airstrikes, blocking of access and medical supplies by ground troops, use of tanks and bulldozers, detainment of medical staff and patients and those taking shelter, forced evacuation, withdrawal of troops after rendering the hospital non-functional.
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The scenes are graphic and highly disturbing: patients and staff being shot, emaciated children on intravenous drips, horrific injuries, medical staff digging graves for adults and children in the hospital grounds, beds with patients in them being dragged into the streets to avoid being shot.
In addition to this, there are allegations of the targeted killing of medics (including in their homes and with family members), and the imprisonment, torture, rape, disappearance, and death of others in detention – as well as the abuse of prisoners by some Israeli doctors.
The documentary includes the, by now, customary denials of wrongdoing by the Israeli authorities without evidence being presented (a) to refute the allegations being convincingly made (using the testimonies of detainees, whistleblowers, human rights activists and video footage taken by IDF and prison personnel) or (b) to back up IDF claims that Hamas is using the hospitals for military purposes.
The denials are also implausible given the cumulative evidence that has emerged from Gaza, which includes the chilling statistic of more than 57,000 dead, including more than 1,400 healthcare workers.
On the day the programme was screened, the death of Dr Marwan al-Sultan, a renowned and highly experienced cardiologist and the medical director of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza was announced.
He was the 70th healthcare worker to be killed in Gaza in the last 50 days.
There is an urgent need for a ceasefire and for all the hostages to be returned and for medical aid (and food) to pour into Gaza and for hospitals and healthcare workers to be protected – as well as the need for a long-term plan to rebuild the health service.
In this context, there is now an urgent need for doctors and other healthcare workers individually and collectively to raise their voices – as well as medical schools and professional training bodies around the world (including in Ireland).
Israeli doctors, many of whom work in world-class hospitals in Israel, also need to have the moral courage to raise their voices in support of their Palestinian colleagues who continue to work under attack in the most appalling and dangerous of circumstances down the road from them.
If we remain silent, we are also complicit. – Yours, etc,
CHRIS FITZPATRICK,
Terenure,
Dublin.
Sir, – Niall McCann's excellent article ('Why is the United Nations not doing more on Gaza,' July 3rd) contains one of the most frustrating statements that sums up the tragedy that is happening there.
He mentions Bosnia in the 1990s where the UN authorised Nato to impose a no-fly zone. So, if the UN had similarly bravely imposed this policy on Israel any time in the last 600-plus days of genocide how many thousands of Palestinian lives would have been saved?
We are all complicit at this stage – Yours, etc ,
JUDY BURKE,
Rosscarbery,
Co Cork.
Gaza children and visas
Sir, – Your report ( '
Evacuation of ill children from Gaza stalls over visas
,' (July 4th) refers to the visas in question being for accompanying family members of critically ill children, some of whom have died waiting.
You also report elsewhere that while one- third of Ukrainian refugees have left, there are still 80,000 in the State.
What has happened here? Did we expend all our humanity on Ukraine? Have we none left for the victims of a genocide? Why can we not take all the families of these children and many more besides?
Our Government has expressed many fine words to the world about the horrors of Gaza, but cannot seem to convert those words to even this small action.
Our hypocrisy is staggering. – Yours, etc,
DR EDEL McGINNITY,
Mulhuddart,
Dublin 15.
Sir, – Ireland alone cannot stop the genocide in Gaza. Nor can we evacuate the entire population.
But surely we can evacuate a few children. If they have families here, good. If not, surely families can be found for them? – Yours, etc,
Ben Aveling,
Ranelagh,
Dublin.
Health is wealth
Sir, – A thought for the day: It occurs to me that we'd all be healthier and wealthier if we could switch the Revenue Commissioners to run Health and the HSE to run the Revenue . – Yours, etc,
JOHN H. DOCKRELL,
Foxrock,
Dublin.
It will never catch on
Sir, – I only recently realised that the Irish Times e-paper subscription, as well as giving today's paper, also gives you the newspaper from the same day one, two, five, ten, 25 and 50 years ago. I now regularly read the 50-year-old one from when I was a teenager and totally uninterested in current affairs.
Depressingly, many of the topics are similar today as back then; economy, inflation, energy, middle east conflict, etc.
Today, the edition from June 2nd, 1975 had a little report in the motoring section ) on the production of the first British electric car.
The Enfield 8000 cost £2,808 had a rust-free aluminium body and was powered by eight lead-acid batteries with a range of 55 miles but limited to 40 mph top speed.
It has taken a very long time for the EV concept to catch on and contemporary EVs are a far cry from the Enfield 8000 but we're getting there! – Yours, etc,
MARTIN HOWLEY,
Carrigaline,
Co Cork.
Calling time on no comment
Sir, – With regard to the Ranelagh charging arm, the real question is why did 'Dublin City Council not respond to requests for comment'? ('
Dublin electric car owner ordered to remove 'unauthorised' charging arm by council
, July 3rd).
Who do they think they are? They work for us! If they don't want to talk about a specific case they can give general advice on the use of these devices or suggest real alternatives.
The media should be chasing down CEO Richard Shakespeare on a weekly basis to explain these and other decisions about our city.
It really is time for an elected executive mayor with a budget. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O'LEARY,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4.
Our friends in the North
Sir, – Newton Emerson makes some salient points in respect of cross-Border student fees ('
Fees for students from Republic in NI need to rise
,' July 3rd).
Unfortunately, he slips into the usual blinkered thinking that has bedevilled cross-border mobility when he writes: 'One-third of students from Northern Ireland who want a local place are unable to get one, forcing them to study in Britain, where they have to pay the maximum fee anyway.'
They are not forced to study in Britain. They could come South, where fees, even if they go back up to €3,000, would be just over a quarter of the sum to be paid in Britain (¤11,000).
Yes, the cost of living is higher here, so some of the savings on fees may be needed for living expenses.
And the poor A Level points equivalencies have been a handicap, though that has been removed now on the back of recommendations by a Universities Ireland working group that I chaired in 2023.
If only our schools in the North gave students as much support for the CAO system as they do for UCAS, cross-border mobility for Northerners could be addressed. It is high time that they did so, and that they were helped to do so. If only for the sake of keeping more of our youngsters and their obvious talents closer to home. – Yours, etc,
PROF PÓL Ó DOCHARTAIGH,
University of Galway,
Galway.
Gaming the education system
Sir, – Is it a rule for thee (the poor) and a rule for me (the rich) in modern education?
An article by Carl O'Brien details how the deans of the medical schools in Ireland have met and are arranging plans to reduce the weighting of the Hpat aptitude test. ('C
olleges to alter entry requirements for medicine amid concern applicants 'gaming' aptitude test
,' July 1st).
The article highlights how 'gaming' the system is the perceived flaw of the Hpat exam.
It struck me that the comment section related to the article was flooded with comments to the anecdotal tune of 'I know someone who got 625 points but, due to the Hpat, couldn't study medicine.'
Surely, by now, we have concluded that being book smart is not the sole indication of the skill of a future doctor?
I note that a well-known private 'grinds' school in Dublin, in 2020, had over 100 students achieve 600-plus points.
Did these students also not 'game the system' by attending a private institution?
Why is it okay to 'game' the Leaving Cert but not the Hpat? –Yours, etc,
JAMES BOURKE,
Kanturk,
Cork.
School admissions
Sir, – I am writing in response to the article, ('
New school admissions system for second-level schools to be piloted in five towns in October
,' July 3rd). While I believe this pilot is a step in the right direction, it ultimately fails to tackle the root cause of the problem.
The current system's fundamental flaw lies in the existence of overlapping catchment areas, which actively encourages parents to apply to multiple schools.
This therefore leads to 'long waiting lists and months of stress' and 'duplicate applications'.
A single application form merely streamlines the submission of these multiple, often redundant, applications; it does not eliminate the underlying incentive for them.
A far more effective and equitable solution would be to implement a system where schools have clearly defined, non-overlapping catchment areas. If every residential address falls within the designated catchment of one, and only one, second-level school, then the need for multiple applications vanishes.
Parents would know precisely which school their child is entitled to attend, subject to capacity.
If capacity for a particular school regularly comes under pressure then the redrawing of its catchment area would be necessitated.
The pilot system, while well-intentioned, risks becoming a more efficient way to manage an inherently inefficient, unfair and stressful process. – Yours, etc,
SEAN KEAVNEY,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.
Grand plans and infrastructure
Sir, – I read with some dismay about the the grandiose plans of Transport Infrastructure Ireland to significant expand the Luas network. ('
Future of the Luas: suburban routes and circular services around Dublin by 2050
,' July 1st).
In many ways this is symptomatic of the calamitous problem that continually bedevils getting any project done in Ireland.
A large State agency with a large cohort of senior staff launches lofty plans, containing great ambition, no doubt having engaged many experts (not cheap) along the way in its compiling.
The report or study is published, perhaps along with a media launch, maybe a government minister is present and it is handshakes all around.
Let's be honest. We are codding ourselves here.
Years later nothing has happened, the report or study got 'shelved' and perhaps many of the senior personnel involved are long retired.
A small suggestion would be 'shelve' this approach. Instead, why not target small but realistic projects and get them built?
In the case of the Luas why not construct small extensions each year or target a line say from Broombridge to Dublin Airport (I note that this is ruled out for 'operational' reasons, whatever they are).
Rather than grandiose plans which remain just that why not pick a project and drive it on, less is more as is often said and what's more it might actually get done. – Yours, etc,
ROB MAC GIOLLARNÁTH,
Annascaul,
Co Kerry.
Counting the carbon cost
Sir, – Your recent editorial, and letters drew attention to the issue of costs versus aesthetics in design for public buildings / infrastructure .
However, what is truly depressing is the absence of discussion of the carbon cost, as opposed to the financial costs of such projects.
Any discussion of these issues without a clear focus on the true cost to the planet is empty.
After all, cement contributes about 8 per cent of all greenhouse emissions worldwide. We should not be embarking on such projects without serious consideration of the overall costs (to the planet) against perceived benefits (to whom?).
Between artificial intelligence perhaps displacing the need for many jobs, and working from home obviating the need for more office space, not to mention the obvious need for a steep reduction in air traffic – it is surely time to realistically re-evaluate what our priorities should be. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O'SHEA,
Shankill,
Dublin.
A popular population
Sir, – With reference to your article in today's article: (
'The people behind the numbers as Ireland's population grows by nearly a third in 20 years,
' (July 3rd) showing Ireland's population increasing to over five million: When I in the course of my 'maiden speech' at the L & H society in UCD in January 1950 voted against the motion that we should unite with England politically, I stated that we had three million people and the audience immediately rose to its feet with thunderous applause! – Yours, etc,
SEÁN Ó CEALLAIGH,
Dublin 7