Sir, – I am in full agreement with the view that the problems in Northern Ireland did not end with the Belfast Agreement but I disagree with Niall O'Dowd when he says that we need another US envoy there ("We need a US envoy to North now more than ever", Opinion & Analysis, September 4th).
The people of Northern Ireland, who have had almost a hundred years in which to form a normal society, still mistrust each other to the extent that outsiders think that they cannot form a government and cannot manage an economy and society. Perhaps a citizens’ assembly, similar to the one down South, would help them to focus on the foolishness and unsustainability of their divisive politics and society. No outside envoy can make deep and permanent changes. A long-term solution can only come from within. – Yours, etc,
AOIFE LORD,
Tankardstown, Co Meath.