Would you please advise or maybe remind your columnist Colette Browne that in the 2002 (25th Amendment) referendum that 49.58% of the people actually voted to exclude suicide as grounds for a termination.

During the three days of hearings of the Oireachtas Health Committee, amid claim and counter-claim, there were just three points on which the witnesses agreed.

It has been said recently that to exclude the threat of suicide as grounds for a legal abortion would be to wrongly cast aspersions on both women and doctors as it would suggest that they would dishonestly claim that a threat of suicide exists in order to obtain an abortion.

Desmond FitzGerald (Aug 18) says that Mr Kenny’s first act as Taoiseach “was to double his salary and that of everyone he appointed to government”.

In an interview on RTÉ Radio last Saturday, Fr Brian D’Arcy defended his attendance at the recent rally in support of the Quinn family on the grounds of “compassion”, and compared it with his attendance at marches in the 1990s by victims of clerical and State-sponsored abuse.

The conversation on the neutrality issue within the columns of the Irish Examiner is enlightening and long overdue.

Tom Cooper’s assumptions (Jan 26) about the raison d’être for our campaign are off the mark.

THE recent controversy in Mayo shows the need for the five-year long farce in Rossport to be brought to an end.

IN response to Martin Southgate’s letter on tobacco smuggling (September 27), here’s a far more effective idea: make Ireland a tobacco tourist destination.

THE serious slide in support for Eamon Gilmore as a potential Taoiseach in this week’s RedC poll is proof that his popularity is based solely on his Dáil performances and the helpful soundbytes given to him by RTÉ.

YOUR columnist Matt Cooper says (June 4) the Seanad is “a retirement home for politicians who have lost their Dáil seats.

IN his letter (April 28), Tom Kindlon asks in respect of the proposed Civil Partnership Bill: “Why are we being denied the chance to have our say in a referendum?”

SO the only new job opportunities in the entire country were confined to a few multi-pensioned politicians in Leinster House.

TRUE to form, John O’Donoghue’s resignation speech was petulant, bitter and deeply ungracious. There was no apology for any extravagance or excess on his part, no acknowledgement of the deep anger of the public at his behaviour. This was of no great surprise.

I NOTE that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, despite the notable handicap of coming to office just 11 days before the close of nominations for the prize.

IN his letter (September 22), Daniel Harrington of Cóir says “the EU court, not the Irish people, will have the power to decide on important moral issues, such as abortion”.

IN his letter (September 1), Seamus Rattigan claims the lack of SIPO restrictions on private companies from campaigning in the Lisbon referendum gives an advantage to the Yes side.

IS it really too much to expect that people would take the time actually to read the McCarthy report before writing to newspapers to pontificate about its contents?

LIBERTAS has been keen to portray itself as a voice for ordinary people, standing up against the European “elites”. Now that it has launched itself as a political party, Declan Ganley has unveiled some of its leading members.

YOU can tell right-wing religious groups are scraping the bottom of the barrel when they have to resort to praising themselves in letters to the Irish Examiner.

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan was just whistling past the Republican plot in Glasnevin on his way to the Dáil chamber yesterday afternoon.

IS John McCain a good investment if there is to be a prolonged recession?

A POLITICIAN blames the people.

THE reaction of the Irish media to the news that Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter is pregnant highlighted the deep-rooted hypocrisy in our society around such issues.

SO Senator Joe Biden is Irish, too. Haven’t we had enough of this leprechaun politics/journalism?

I HAVE to object to the letter from John Mallon (‘Our power of veto will fade away under the treaty’, May 27) which not only highlighted the worst excesses of no campaign scaremongering, but also contained a series of outrageous attacks on a member of the judiciary.

Neither Brian Cowen nor Charlie McCreevy has read the Lisbon Treaty in its entirety (May 23).

ANN STAFFORD (Letters, March 15) singled out Gay Mitchell MEP for some rather unfair criticism.

IN your report (December 28) on the carbon footprint of various ministers, you stated in a caption under a photo of the Taoiseach — “Bertie Ahern: Driving to work costs him €3k a year”.

RTÉ gets the wobbles over an ad mentioning the crib, but broadcasts the Angelus every day. The lunatics have taken over the media.

NED O’KEEFFE should resign his seat now and let East Cork voters speak for the nation.

If YOU voted back that self-serving lot last summer, come out now with your hands up.

AS the nation holds its breath for the results of the Seanad elections, the PDs are eagerly awaiting the appointment by the Taoiseach of two senators from among their own ranks.

WHEN reporting on the appointment of Eoghan Harris to the Seanad to replace Maurice Hayes as the sole non-Fianna Fáil member among the Taoiseach’s 11 nominees, it was surely worth noting that while Mr Harris is a journalist with the Sunday Independent, Mr Hayes is a director of Independent News and Media, the group which owns that particular newspaper.

I WISH to take up the challenge of Michael Burns (Letters, July 24) to name five PD policies which could be described as Thatcherite.

IN his budget speech last December, Finance Minister Brian Cowen said that “any stamp duty cuts would … end up in the pocket of the seller. This will not help first-time buyers to purchase new homes”.

I WAS interested to read about Don Murphy’s various attempts to contact Fianna Fáil on the issue of stamp duty — all of which were ignored (Irish Examiner letters, March 28).

DOES Social and Family Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan have any sense of irony?

A FEW weeks ago, a Croke Park official blamed freak weather conditions for the ‘glassy’ playing surface that had players slipping and sliding all over the place.

I HAVEN’T a hope of a hurling ticket for Thurles next Saturday.

OH God, not the World Cup again.

May Day! May Day!

IN pointing out on Tonight with Vincent Browne last week that members of the Catholic Church were not alone either in perpetrating abuse or covering it up, I was obviously not condoning abuse ...

SO the Coalition Cabinet are going to study the statistics used in the TV series Rip Off Republic fronted by Eddie Hobbs (Irish Examiner, September 8).