Sir, – I am astonished and disappointed by the words of Senator Paschal Mooney, expressing his discomfort and disinclination towards the services of what he calls “obvious non-national” taxi drivers (Home News, January 24th). The senator qualifies this remark by stating that this has “nothing to do with the colour of their skin.”
My question is how then the senator discerns which taxi drivers are “local” and which are “obvious non-nationals”? Perhaps there is a secret handshake or gesture I’m not aware of?
At a time when there are more and more Irish young people with diverse ethnic backgrounds, the distinction the senator clumsily makes is highly insulting and has no place on the floor of the Seanad.
The senator later withdrew his remarks, claiming they had been “misinterpreted”. This suggests that any offence caused is the fault of those offended and is a further insult. In fact, the senator’s comments were quite clear and are part of a common narrative when it comes to racism in our country. – Yours, etc,