Madam, - Having read your Editorial 'Wearing a Turban' (August 16th) it seems the Minister of State for Integration, Conor Lenihan, is confusing "integration" with "assimilation" when insisting that "people who come here must understand our way of doing things".
What worries me is that, in the absence of a ministry for culture and a national cultural policy, Mr Lenihan's narrow definition of Irishness may be projected worldwide.
In any case, in terms of Garda headgear, the turban would beat the flat cap into a cocked hat any day. - Yours, etc,
KEN McCUE, Bow Street, Dublin 7.
Madam, - Your Editorial (August 16th) regarding the wearing of turbans was sadly, yet predictably, full of wet, liberal sentiment. Minister of State for Integration Conor Lenihan is castigated for dealing with the issue in a "blunt way" and for having the temerity to mention that when the President and ministers travel abroad they accept the cultural requirements of the country they are in.
Instead of admiring the Minister for taking a stand which many if not most ordinary Irish people would find quite sensible, you trot out the same old litany of right-on liberal positions which require no real thought as long as they allow those who hold to these ideas to feel good and be seen to be "on message" on the topic of immigration and so-called multiculturalism.
Throughout the Editorial, the readers have it explained to them how we as a people could do better; we could be more accommodating, more inclusive. It does not seem to have occurred to you that in a situation such as this, one side must back down: either the Sikh applicant or An Garda Síochána. One or other tradition is going to have to change. But it seems as though it is always up to us to change our ways and traditions.
However, so as appear balanced, you write that "carte blanche" should not be given to any form of dress and that "clearly the burqa might impinge on the operational effectiveness of a female garda".
I find it laughable that you think that the burqa "might" impinge. I suspect most right-thinking people would have difficulty conceiving of a situation where the burqa would not impinge on operational ability.
To The Irish Times it seems as though there are no lengths to which we should not go to prove our multicultural credentials, including suspending our common sense when it comes to the Garda uniform lest we cause offence. - Yours, etc,
TREVOR TROY, Plás Connacht, Baile Átha Buí, Co na Mí.
Madam, - The Garda authorities are being over-rigid in their application of their uniform rules when they refuse to allow a Sikh Garda reservist to wear a turban as required by his religion. There is no problem with the UK police authorities with turban-wearing - ;in fact they look better than the ill-fitting caps gardaí are required to wear. - Yours, etc,
BRENDAN BUTLER, The Moorings, Malahide, Co Dublin.