Madam, - Shortly after Ireland joined the (then) EEC, I found work in Germany in the 1970s on the strength of my new EEC citizenship - a small example of the welcome so many Irish emigrants received around the world.
We must not fall into the simplistic trap that has recently come to consume the base politics of so many of our fellow EU states. We must not exclude the new members of our enlarged EU, for to do so would belie the name Union.
My father first came to Ireland from a financially crippled Germany. He subsequently received an opportunity to develop a business in Dublin which maintained his family and in which I am proud now to work after him.
Let us remain a welcoming EU state, embracing our new fellow-members, even if we be the last to do so. When we reflect on the welcome and opportunity given the Irish emigrant in past centuries, we can do no less. - Yours, etc.,
CONN CLISSMANN, Dartmouth Square, Dublin 6.
Madam, - I welcome recent statements by the Government that Ireland does not plan to restrict access to its labour market when 10 new members join the European Union on May 1st.
It is regrettable that this week the UK announced planned restrictions on free movement of workers, leaving Ireland alone among current member-states with a position of equal work rights for citizens of the new members. The U-turns by some member-states are shameful.
Ireland has a long history of emigration and we have also gained significantly from EU membership. It would be disgraceful if we were now to deny our new European neighbours the same opportunities that were afforded to us.
When the Nice Treaty was rejected in Ireland for the first time, many people in the applicant states interpreted the vote as a rejection of enlargement. We are now presented with a marvellous opportunity to disprove those views and demonstrate our generosity and welcome.
The Tánaiste has also spoken of the labour shortages in certain sectors of our economy. So it is in our own economic interest to attract the skills we need and avoid overheating the economy. Capital is far more mobile than labour and if we cannot provide the skills our industries require, those firms may well migrate elsewhere.
The Government must hold firm to its promise and resist pressure from populist anti-immigration elements whose comments fan racist sentiment. May 1st should be a day of celebration right across Ireland when we say a warm "Céad Míle Fáilte" to our new EU fellow-citizens. - Yours, etc.
SEAN Ó NEACHTAIN, MEP Galway.