If the children’s referendum is passed, parents will no longer have any say in the upbringing of their children.

Stroke politics, massive expense claims, lack of transparency, terrorising the population with budget threats.

With regard to your report ‘Alex White urges transparency over reforms’, I very much doubt if that will be delivered, given the shameful abandonment of core Labour policies by the current party hierarchy.

Many people perceive that principle has been sacrificed in favour of pragmatism with the resignation of Róisín Shortall.

Among the many constitutional cost-cutting recommendations James Gleeson makes in his recent letter (Oct 1) is to cap politicians’, councillors’ and political advisors’ pay at €150,000 per annum.

We now know 87,000 people emigrated in the year up to April 2012.

As a survivor of abuse, I want to make a few short points.

Isn’t it extraordinary that the very people who want the Government not to pay money to bondholders, which would bring about a default by the banks, are the same people who are complaining that banks are not lending to small businesses?

Just about one year ago, the people of Ireland were asked to give more power to the Oireachtas to investigate “matters deemed to be of public importance”.

It was amazing to hear the president of the GAA Liam O’Neill state that all the seats in Croke Park give the spectator a good view of the pitch and the games played there.