Letters: Who will protect Ireland when we cannot, and will not, protect ourselves?
We choose this path in the hope that it will buffer us from engaging in any overt acts abroad to defend other sovereign states or democracies, but also in the expectation that others will come to our pitiful defence.
For years, the Irish Defence Forces have been underfunded, understaffed and underequipped by successive ministers and governments.
An example of this is our national waters. These should be patrolled 24/7 against the insidious and often blatant Russian navy and its spy ships. Yet we can barely man one ship, never mind two, out of a fleet of six. Then we have the Air Corps losing technicians, air-traffic controllers and pilots to the private sector. No investment in jet fighters. Why?
We have an army that has lost a large number of well-trained soldiers who are being paid a pittance and work with equipment that would not fulfil any mandate if it came to the defence of our lands. Not one tank or missile launcher.
We have a police service that should, to all intent and purposes, be concentrating on policing without the added portfolios of security and intelligence. There should be a separate, independent and fully funded secret service with the technology and staffing that knows what is happening in advance of any possible threats to our State.
Who will protect us if we can't protect ourselves and why has there been so much resistance to our security and defence in a world that is tearing itself apart?
Sadly, we have too many non-combatants, with little or no frontline experience in security and defence, who are making decisions that could hugely impact us as we face a period of global uncertainty.
Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
No point in dialogue with regime whose stated aim is to wipe Israel off the map
Micheál Martin and Simon Harris suggest diplomacy and dialogue is needed with Iran. This mindset shows their total lack of understanding of the situation.
Iran's stated aim is to wipe Israel off the world map, which means annihilating its entire population.
Iran cannot and must not be appeased.
Joe Dixon, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan
Office of the President belongs in another era, its cost is needed in this one
As the country faces another costly presidential election, one wonders if the Republic of Ireland needs a president and whether it can afford to sustain what is largely a ceremonial office.
For me, the answer to both questions is an emphatic no.
The non-executive and outdated office is weighed down by protocols and formalities, which are irrelevant in a modern republic grappling with very serious housing, health, criminal and international issues.
The president holds office for an inordinately long seven years, and can be elected for a second term.
Unlike a general or local election, it is almost impossible for an ordinary Irish citizen to contest this election, as a nomination requires the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or at least four local authorities.
In addition to expense-free living in the opulent Áras, the president is entitled to an annual salary of €332,017, nearly seven times the average working salary of €47,967.
Presidential staff and ceremonial functions, at home and abroad, cost the taxpayer at least €5 million per annum.
Some very fine people, including the current incumbent, have held the office of president.
But, in my opinion, the position is now unsustainable and the money spent in electing and maintaining a president of Ireland is urgently needed elsewhere.
Billy Ryle, Tralee, Co Kerry
250 million ways to make a miserable existence that small bit more bearable
The recent €250m EuroMillions win reminds me of an old adage: Money can't buy you happiness, but it makes being unhappy a bit more bearable. Quite.
Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin
In a post-truth world, media literacy should be mandatory in all schools
I am often asked these days by all sorts of people: Where do you get your news from? Who are your trusted sources? In this age of disinformation, alternative facts, post-truthism and the evisceration of mainstream media by the internet, the economics of the newspaper industry have been virtually destroyed.
I have to say there are valiant efforts out there by some of the newspapers, but I often find myself asking: Is real investigative reporting on top of the totem pole any more? I also wonder about the editorial standards vis-a-vis fact-checking of stories.
There is so much information out there from so many different sources, one wonders how one decides what's true. Perhaps a deeper philosophical question would be: in the world we now live in, is there such a thing any more as objective truth?
When one looks at the Trump administration, there appears to be many people who clearly do not believe truth is worth finding out, let alone speaking. Propaganda, misinformation and fake news have the potential to polarise public opinion along with promoting violent extremism and hate speech, resulting in the undermining of democracies.
I believe it is vital for schools to provide students with a solid education on media and information literacy as part of the curriculum.
John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Tax bill for council's land hoarding is sweet karma for those who created it
The Connaught Tribune recently reported the dismay of Mayo councillors at the €385,000 they must pay Revenue for their unused residential zoned land. If a council with an annual budget of €213m cannot make use of its lands, what hope is there for mere mortal private developers without the fairy godmother of the Exchequer to fund them?
The Land Development Agency is seeking powers to buy private land, but this is a distraction from the real land hoarding by the many arms of the State itself. Politicians created the ridiculous Residential Zoned Land Tax – that they find their own councils on the receiving end is a most pleasing karma indeed. Alex Wilsdon, Dublin Road, Kilkenny
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We need their young voices. I chatted to a retired senior judge about this last weekend, and he was horrified by the development. As he said, bad things like this happen incrementally, until one day you wake up to a knock on the door and think, 'Jesus, how did we get here?' Workers stand handcuffed after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, at Delta Downs Racetrack, Hotel and Casino in Calcasieu Parish, near Vinton, Louisiana last month. Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP Both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have expressed concern. Simon Harris intends to raise the matter with the new US Ambassador next month. Micheál Martin has stated that he disagrees with the measures. In reality, the American Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) now essentially reject travellers to the United States who are not ideologically in line with the regime. The parameters of what is considered dissent against the regime seem broad and vague. Imagine if we checked the phones of American tourists in Dublin and said, 'No, sorry, you don't get to see the Cliffs of Moher or the Book of Kells because we see from your social media posts that you deny the genocide in Gaza and you seem supportive of Benjamin Netanyahu'. What the hell has happened to America with its modern-day version of McCarthyism restraining people who hold opposing views? Are all lessons from the past being lost? Barack Obama, who has frustrated many Democrats with his relative silence on a range of subjects in the USA, issued a warning a week ago that America is dangerously close to losing its democracy. Except it's not just in America that this censorship is taking place. Kneecap fans at Glastonbury at the weekend. Following the festival, British police are considering whether to launch criminal investigations into the hip hop group and punk duo Bob Vylan. Freedom of speech has been under relentless attack in the UK. Their Public Order Act 1986 is capable of broad interpretation. In tandem with two further acts of 2002 and 2022, it effectively allows policing to be politicised with jokes, social media posts, and even private conversations arguably coming within their dragnet. Following the Glastonbury Festival last weekend, British police are considering whether to launch criminal investigations into two acts: the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and the punk duo Bob Vylan. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted 'Death, death, to the IDF'. The police announced the possibility of an investigation on Saturday on X. You might not like what someone says, but you may want to ensure that people still have the right to say it. The question is, where does cultural resistance and performance (including satire) end and terrorism or incitement to hatred begin? This is not an easy question to answer, but it is a vitally important one. While 'Glasto' was going on, John Brennan, former Director of the CIA, addressed a summer school for the Law Society's Centre for Justice and Law Reform in Dublin. It was on the theme 'Defending Democracy: Legal Responses to Emerging Threats'. He remarked on the 'delicate balance' faced by governments in permitting free speech while prohibiting hate speech and incitement to violence. We've had a back-and-forth on this ourselves, with hate speech laws being dropped last year by former minister for justice Helen McEntee due to a lack of consensus on the thorny issue. I have found myself flip-flopping on the subject, but I have come to believe that we should probably be wary of hate speech laws for fear of stifling public discourse. Kneecap It is precisely because clamping down on freedom of expression is taken so seriously by human rights lawyers that Kneecap's frontman, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, has attracted an extraordinarily heavyweight legal team defending him in his alleged terrorism offence. He was charged last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November 2024. He has firmly denied the charge but is currently on bail. Ó hAnnaidh's legal team (Kneecap call them An Scoithfhoireann or the Dream Team) is a roll call of who's who in human rights law, including Gareth Peirce, who formerly represented the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six. Peirce has devoted decades to defending underdogs. Critics see her as destabilising the establishment and undermining national security, which is the catch-all rationale that the Americans are using now to reject visa applications or even detain people. Peirce has spoken in the past about the dangers of stigmatising people as a threat to national security when they're not, and 'how justice dies when the law is co-opted for political purposes'. Gareth Peirce avoids the media like the plague, but in an old interview, she said: 'We take it on trust that if the government suspects people of terrorism and locks them up, or puts them on control orders without charge, they must be terrorists.' When a political context is as febrile as it is now, it is more likely that governments will dismantle fundamental freedoms, and we won't question what is really going on. Could this crackdown be a reaction or an attempted distraction from the allegation that the British state has failed to uphold international law and arguably been complicit in genocide through its supply of arms to Israel? Either way, the trial promises to be an important test of the principle of freedom of expression. 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Government trade forum examines measures to mitigate global economic uncertainty
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