Sir, – Newton Emerson says that because "all the parties in Northern Ireland want to keep free movement of people", there is no threat to "peace" or the "political process" ("Why is Coveney stirring Stormont pot?", Opinion & Analysis, July 20th).
He ignores the fact that millions of people in the UK voted for Brexit precisely to inhibit the free movement of people. He is, therefore, missing the fundamental significance of the UK vote for Brexit. If the free movement of people is to be inhibited then there is no option but to have a hard border between the EU and the UK.
The implications that has for peace and the political process in Northern Ireland are fundamental.
That is a statement of fact and not, as Newton Emerson calls it, a “doom-laden pronouncement”. – Yours, etc,
A LEAVY,
Sutton, Dublin 13.