Madam, - How refreshing to see Laura Kennedy's letter (August 2nd), which puts into perspective the situation in which the Roma people find themselves. The outpouring of vitriol in the media in the last couple of weeks confirmed the feeling that there is an underlying current of intolerance in this country that has found a voice in our comfortable Celtic Tiger days.
Another story in the media this week added to this impression. A young UK actress in Dublin to meet her husband, who is working here, was subjected to racist abuse on no fewer than three occasions on her short stay. A quote in one report along the lines that "she must have been mistaken for a welfare refugee" was supposed to form part of an excuse. That some people feel abusing an economic migrants excusable says a lot about how Ireland has regressed in its approach to the less well-off.
Economic migrants have made great sacrifices to try to make a better life for themselves. They are leaving countries in which they have no future and have been bombarded with images of glamorous lifestyles in the West. They are acting as generations of Irish people did.
How easily we forget from the comfort of our SUVs and suburban semis. - Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH, Blackrock, Cork.
Madam, - John Higgins (August 1st) seems to be under the entirely wrong impression that in his recent speech to gardaí at a passing-out ceremony in Templemore, Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan spoke about issues relating to a particular non-governmental organisation.
The reports of the Minister's comments in this regard arose, in fact, from questions put to him by members of the media who were present in Templemore that day. This took place entirely apart from the ceremonies that were taking place.
The Minister's address to the gardaí, their families and friends contained no reference whatsoever to the issue. It follows, of course, that Mr Higgins's concerns about the Minister's speech are baseless. - Yours, etc,
DALE SUNDERLAND, Press Officer, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dublin 2.