I can understand the justifiable anger with which Gary Daly writes (Letters, April 26) but it is enormously dangerous to urge people not to vote.

My late mother spent 40 years as a teacher. She loved her profession. She was one of five siblings who followed this path, between them giving two centuries to Irish education. I am very, very proud of my family’s contribution.

Since the reduction of guidance counsellors hours in post-primary schools, the incremental value to the exchequer has been imperceptible.

In a letter by B Cotton (April 24), which addressed the recent article in the Irish Examiner (April 17) about ‘Catholics for Choice‘, your correspondent states that ”as a practicing Catholic... contraception is banned, because sex was made by God to bring children into the world and not for self-gratification”.

There is an old joke; ‘the three best things about being a teacher are’ ‘June, July and August’.

The call by a Conservative MP, Michael Fabricant, for Ireland to rejoin the British Commonwealth following the successful state visit to the UK of President Michael D Higgins comes as no surprise. However, the response by Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes who said “such a proposal should be considered”, does.

At the early stages of the so-called Celtic Tiger, a preposterous claim was made by the then president of the ASTI to the effect that the wonderful “economic boom” being experienced in the country was directly as a result of the teaching given by her members to the new young entrepreneurs, and as a consequence she felt her members should be entitled to a 30% pay increase, on top of benchmarking.

I refer to Val Martin’s letter of April 22: “Energy claims are hot air”. I am an electrical engineer, with six years’ experience in wind energy in Ireland, Germany and the UK.

I think it is important for all registered voters to exercise their right not to vote in the upcoming local and European elections.

With talk of the Queen visiting Ireland to ‘help us’ commemorate the 1916 Rising centenary, it’s important to realise just exactly who Elizabeth Glucksburg [members of the British Royal Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house — in this case Windsor — and by a surname, which are not always the same. And often they do not use a surname at all] is and who she represents.