Letters to the Editor: EU states must take action on Gaza
Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City. Picture: Jehad Alshrafi/AP
During our heatwave, alongside our enjoyment of it there were challenges in staying comfortable and cool in such heat.
My thoughts turned often to the people of Gaza, struggling in a destroyed landscape and infrastructure to do the same with great difficulty.
I thought particularly of the parents of young children, trying to provide for them in an environment rendered so unsafe by the absence of proper shelter, enough food and clean water, sanitation to maintain hygienic standards, and the absence of proper healthcare to respond to illness in a disease- ridden environment made more difficult by the extreme heat.
For anyone interested in knowing about these conditions, the Unicef Analysis of the Response to the Needs of Children (in Gaza) at Mid-year 2026 will provide the hard-to-read details.
All of this is on top of the trauma of death and injury, concentrated in the very small territory, so that trauma has been experienced by every person living there.
It is a nightmarish scenario and one the international community appears to have, to a great extent, turned away from, perhaps by a greater focus generally on the dangerous machinations of POTUS, both domestically and internationally.
In spite of significant humanitarian funding for Palestine, politically the EU continues to have a disgracefully weak response in attempting to stop what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, using the absence of consensus of the 27 member states as an excuse for inaction and moral opt-out.
Is it not, therefore, incumbent on the member states wishing to take political action to branch out together themselves, sidestepping EU rules, given the dire humanitarian needs in Gaza?
International public or political figures speaking about Gaza and the West Bank appear to be less frequent now, including our own politicians, though public opinion in most Western countries appears to be still deeply concerned about the plight of the Palestinians (see changing polls in the US), and not always in alignment with their own governments.
Politicians ignore this at their peril.
Interventions like Zohran Mamdani calling for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu if he arrives in the US, according to International Criminal Court directives, are very welcome.
Though this will not happen, by calling for this, Mamdani highlights again the egregious actions and intent of Netanyahu’s administration and gives hope that eventually there will be justice and consequences for the destruction of Gaza and the continuing illegal appropriation of the West Bank.
I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s decision to act on a raft of measures to ensure a higher level of safety around the purchase and operation of e-scooters. However, I hope they would also make it an offence to wear earbuds for music whilst operating an e-scooter.
As a resident of an area that our third- level students happily abound in, it beggars belief the amount of near misses I witness every day (and night) as the future of our nation waltzes through red lights in a rush to a lecture, while listening to a podcast on mindfulness.
However, please let this not become another unnecessary burden on my colleagues in the hospitality sector who arrive into work on e-scooters.
We must ensure that they are not penalised, and that the procurement of helmets and insurance is, at the very least, 100% tax-deductible for them and financed like the bike to work scheme.
Furthermore, special dispensation needs to be made for teenagers under the age of 18 who are in employment — they should be commended and encouraged, not penalised.
Good work can be done here, and even though we are entering the dog days of summer, one is reminded that we also need a conversation about the belligerence of cyclists, for the autumn perhaps.
It was very disturbing reading your report on the victims of people-traffickers, ‘Victims forced into sexual exploitation within 24 hours of arriving in Ireland, gardaí say’, , July 20.
Was it really necessary to constantly refer to the nationality of the many trafficked victims?
The senior Garda member quoted repeatedly identified the nationality of victims with total insensitivity to the problems that might be caused for all those from such countries who are legitimately living here and whose country of origin is apparent by their appearance.
The great fear is that those readily associated with any of the countries quoted now have a target on their backs to be singled out for abuse by those flag-waving xenophobes now roaming our streets, looking for any opportunity to vent their hatred.
The focus must be solely on rescuing victims, regardless of where they happen to have been born, and putting those who so ruthlessly exploit them out of business and behind bars.
It is time to end the laptop racket and digital divide in our schools.
This so-called country of wealth is up to its neck in debt, with parents spending their days going to the credit union and the Saint Vincent de Paul.
The SVP reports 3,000 applications for alms for school costs so far.
Voluntary contributions, which many argue are not voluntary, may be a precursor to privatisation of our public school system, and promote favouritism with parent-school relations depending on the scale of contribution.
Our Constitution states in Article 42.4: “Primary education shall be provided free.”
This country is acting against the Constitution in demanding any money at primary level, most certainly.
If a school needs equipment, then it must provide it.
It may even be possible to hold the Government to Article 42.4 and recover money spent by parents, rather than parents going into debt.
It is a wonder, indeed, how many devices our public schools, both primary and secondary, could have achieved had money not been squandered on a bicycle shed outside the Dáil for €350,000.
There is also the conceited business of exclusivity of contracts for uniforms, tracksuits, crests, and digital devices.
It should also be outlawed that any pupil be downgraded or miss out because they cannot afford expensive and sometimes controversial devices.
A crest can be ironed on and does not necessarily need to be embroidered on, or exist at all.
It is time for the education of common sense.
One of the certainties in life is that all of us will face death, but it is a subject that many of us find difficult to talk about.
When time is short, what is it that really matters?
What are people thinking, feeling, and experiencing in those final months?
The Irish Hospice Foundation is hoping to answer those questions through a unique new project.
It is inviting people believed to be in the last year to 18 months of life to document their experiences through photography and recorded reflections.
The foundation is asking people who are terminally ill to pick up a camera and record what they are thinking.
I think the importance of that is to include their voice in what the hospice will advocate for the future.
It is a fascinating idea to record what these brave souls are thinking, and it will help us understand the end-of-life experience, which will be beneficial to so many people.
The genial Paddy Prendergast played full-back on the Mayo 1950 and 1951 All-Ireland-winning football teams.
He settled in Tralee, where he became Kerry’s favourite Mayo man.
Paddy retained a lifelong passionate interest in the fortunes of his native county and suffered heartbreak in their 11 All-Ireland final losses since 1951.
Paddy dearly wished for Mayo to win another All-Ireland. Indeed, his many friends and acquaintances in Kerry supported Mayo in the final, except when Kerry was the opposition.
Paddy often remarked that he would die happy if Mayo again won the Sam Maguire.
Regrettably, his wish wasn’t fulfilled before his death in 2021.
Kerry people never bought into the myth that the ‘Mayo Curse’ put the kibosh on a Mayo All-Ireland victory since 1951.
Apparently, on the way home with Sam in 1951, the team failed to pay their respects to the mourners at a funeral they encountered in Foxford.
The local priest took issue and cursed Mayo not to win Sam again until the 1951 Mayo squad had all died.
The last member of the squad, Dr Mick Loftus, passed away in 2023.
In their All-Ireland victories over Mayo, Kerry folk believed that the curse was just superstitious folklore and that the better team deservedly carried the day.
Mayo can’t blame the curse if they lose on Sunday.
The game will be won by passion, effort, and ability.
No Kerry person begrudges Paddy Prendergast’s beloved Mayo a first All-Ireland victory since 1951, but we’d prefer it not to happen for at least another year.
I attended recently at South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital for a number of eye procedures and I wish to express my gratitude and thanks to all concerned for the way in which I was treated.
I was put at ease immediately by the very warm and relaxing welcome at the admissions office and this approach was also exemplified by all the wonderful nurses, doctors, and other staff, up to and including all those in the operating theatre.
I believe that, at times, we can all be guilty of not appreciating and acknowledging how fortunate we are to be placed in the highly skilled and gifted hands of these wonderful surgeons and their teams.
I am sure as well that this level of dedication and professionalism which I encountered is not confined to SIVUH, but is replicated in all the other hospitals in Cork City, and indeed throughout the country.
It was very evident that quite a large proportion of staff at all levels in SIVUH come from countries outside of Ireland, and I presume that this applies to hospitals throughout the country.
We should be very grateful for the wonderful contribution they are making to the running of our health system, as otherwise I fear it would be in a state of collapse without them.
