Letters to the Editor: We must protect freedom of speech

 Author Salman Rushdie: We mustn’t let the vile attempt on the life of a gifted and courageous writer to deter us from giving expression to our own creative energies.

The attack on Salman Rushdie serves as a stark reminder that freedom of speech is a right we dare not take for granted.

The fact that a work of literature may contain elements that some readers find offensive surely doesn’t entitle critics to ban others from reading it, and certainly doesn’t justify passing a sentence of death on the writer, whether in his/her presence or absence.

Arbitrary and oppressive restrictions on the right to express ourselves are reasserting themselves worldwide, especially in totalitarian states and ones ruled or dominated by clerics.

We mustn’t let the vile attempt on the life of a gifted and courageous writer to deter us from giving expression to our own creative energies.

John Fitzgerald

Callan

Co Kilkenny

HSE’s failing disability services are shameful 

Neil Michael’s article (" 11-year-old Cara Darmody: Dearth of autism resources 'needs to be treated like a crisis, like Covid", Irish Examiner, Aug 6) relaying the perniciously challenging vagaries of children with pervasive developmental issues along with the dearth of HSE disability service responses to same, is once again a shameful eye-opener to the plight and the indefensible paucity of appropriate supportive care. The family highlighted have an impossible daily struggle to manage their children, yet there is little or no practical professional support available to them. This sorry scenario recurs across the country ad infinitum.

Not good enough, not near good enough. But yet again, what’s new?

As the old adage claims: “a democratic state is only as good as to how it treats its most vulnerable and needy citizens”.

On this children’s disability service count, the HSE has failed, and failed miserably.

Jim Cosgrove

Senior Music Therapist

Lismore

Co Waterford

Trans rights can’t be at the expense of women

There can be no doubt the majority of people, particularly women, felt vindicated reading Alison O Connor’s column (‘Happily, the Government is rethinking this daft decision to erase women’ Irish Examiner, Aug 12) that ‘the Government is rethinking the utterly daft decision to erase women from maternity legislation’.

She correctly says that removing the word woman would affect half of the population — the women of the country. The change was ‘to accommodate what must be a handful of trans men who give birth each year’. After a long arduous struggle for the rights we have won as women since the foundation of the state, there is no way we will accept the removal of our name at the stroke of Roderic O Gorman’s pen. It would have a major damaging effect on women’s self-esteem, their status in society, and subordinate women’s rights to trans rights. Trans people have rights but not at the expense of women’s rights.

Anne Conway

Donnycarney

Dublin 9

We must debate and compromise

It is understandable that many women feel the proposed use of gender neutral language erases their identity from public life, and this should be respected. However, given that both the National Women’s Council Ireland and the Transgender Equality Network Ireland both support leaving the word “women” in the legislation and adding a reference to “trans men”, it is difficult to see how this is an ideological issue.

This is exactly how politics should work: compromise through discussion and debate to reach the best solution. Painting this as part of an ideological culture war between women and trans people, to be won or lost, does a disservice to our democracy.

Derek Kelleher

Kill

Co Kildare

Poor treatment of country’s animals

A wild mountain goat is crowned 'King Puck' by Alesha Williams, Queen of Puck Fair at the annual crowning ceremony in the town square, Killorglin.

The recent controversy surrounding the mistreatment of the unfortunate goat used to provide entertainment for the revellers at Puck Fair, reminds us once again how desperately backward this country is when it comes to how we treat our non-human animal kin.

Nuala Donlon

Longford

House Ukrainians in church property

Since learning in early July that Dublin Archbishop Dermot Farrell is hiring a property asset manager to sell off unused church property, I emailed the Archbishop’s office to suggest that these properties could be retained just for a year, to house Ukrainian refugees. To date, I have received no response to my suggestion

The Catholic Church is currently implementing a public consultation called “Building Hope”, involving groups of parishioners coming together to discuss the future of the Church. Given the unstinting generosity of the people of Ireland towards the Ukrainian refugees, I have no doubt these groups would be happy to contribute whatever work is required to prepare their local empty Church buildings to accommodate refugees. There would be no cost to the Church.

It’s only for a year. The Archbishop’s statement on the invasion of Ukraine includes the lines “Our Saviour calls us to be like our Father in heaven — to be compassionate as our Heavenly Father is compassionate. This surely is the hour of compassion.” Would not the most practical expression of compassion be to temporarily house those Ukrainians who have arrived here?

Maeve Halpin

Rathmines

Dublin 6

Cut back number of government jobs

Amid all the government’s plans to improve the country’s current situation, I have yet to hear or read one word about them cutting down on the number of government employees, many — in my view — totally unnecessary for the future of our country..

Richard Barton

Maynooth

Co Kildare

I weep for the people of Britain

My thoughts are with you, my friends in Britain and Northern Ireland. I read the news from your country each morning and weep. How did you end up with a parliament run by a network of privileged (mainly) men? To live in a society governed by class and entitlement must be horrible.

Alison Hackett

Dun Laoghaire

Co Dublin

Energy security is under threat

Aside from Russia’s novel use of a nuclear plant as an ‘iron dome’ to protect its invading army, those nuclear proponents who delight in taunting alternative energy advocates with ’when the wind doesn’t blow’ and ‘when the sun doesn’t shine’ should take heed of France, where the rain hasn’t fallen.

Heatwaves have pushed up the temperature of the Rhone and Garonne Rivers, forcing cuts in nuclear energy production to ensure the water used to cool the plants will not harm wildlife when it is released back into the rivers to clog up cooling inlets with more frequent algal blooms and exploding jellyfish populations.

With more than 50% of France’s EDF’s 55 reactors out of service to address corrosion and extend their life beyond their original design limit, EDF estimates its power output this year will be the lowest in more than three decades — with more droughts to come. Relying on an interconnector to a country with an ailing nuclear industry for our future energy security compares poorly with offshore wind turbines — where the wind almost always blows.

Tony Lowes

Friends of the Irish Environment

Eyeries

Co Cork

Bending the law is a negative move

The Minister for Health said laws criminalising pro-life activism within 100 metres of any building designated as an abortion provider will be forthcoming. Although arguments for this law have centred on the need to curb ‘intimidation’, it was acknowledged by the Garda Commissioner in September 2019 that laws combating harassment and intimidation are already on the statute books. The gardaí have said they don’t need more powers.

But Minister Donnelly in February told the Seanad that while he was aware of the gardaí’s opinion he did not agree with it and would go ahead with his plans for this law, even stating it was “pushing up against civil liberties.” What happened to the much vaunted ‘best practice’ and ‘expert-led advice’? Publicly rejecting the expert opinion of the gardaí to flaunt his credentials as a pro-abortion liberal is reckless in the extreme.

Any debate on exclusion zones must concentrate on facts and the massive negative implications such a law would set down for the fundamental rights set out in our Constitution.

Philomena Travers

Ballygawley

Co Sligo