http://www.irishtimes.com Articles from The Irish Times - Letters en-ie Copyright 2008, irishtimes.com. The Irish Times 2008-11-21T00:00:00 http://www.irishtimes.com/ http://www.irishtimes.com/feeds/rss/rss_logo.gif Search for articles on irishtimes.com keywords http://www.irishtimes.com/search/index.html?rm=listresults http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522470.html Madam, - As violence escalates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (The Irish Times, November 18th) it is now believed that it is more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier there. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522470 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522463.html Madam, - On Tuesday Declan Ganley of Libertas repeated his call for the replacement of the existing EU treaties with a US-style constitution. However, he has not explained how this could work. States have constitutions, but the EU is not a state - it is a treaty-based organisation. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522463 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522474.html Madam, - I am curious to know if Seán Byrne is writing as an interested observer or in his capacity of lecturer in economics at the Dublin Institute of Technology ("Doctoring the pay system", HEALTHplus, November 18th) . If it is the latter, I can only describe the article as disingenuous as in my view he blurs the boundary between fact and anecdote to suit his thesis. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522474 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522450.html Madam, - Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern's decision to introduce a ban on handguns will do nothing to combat gun crime. Its only purpose is to show that the Minister is "doing something" about the issue. Legal handgun owners are a soft target. The Minister should be doing more to stop the inflow of illegal firearms. - Yours, etc, Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522450 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522472.html Madam, - Your Editorial of November 15th on "Enda Kenny's consistently poor showing in the opinion polls" ends by referring to the public's consistent "demand for strong leadership". Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522472 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522480.html Madam, - In response to J.G. Lacey's letter of November 20th, the reason there is no light at the end of the economic tunnel is because a multi-carriaged runaway gravy train has been derailed midway through it. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522480 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522468.html Madam, - I am singularly unimpressed by the Government's - and in particular the Taoiseach's - lack of leadership during this period of great risk to our way of life. All we hear from the Government are carefully crafted utterances, presumably drafted by the Department of Finance mandarins who should have been regulating the banking sector properly in the first place. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522468 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522465.html Madam, - I am alarmed at the proposal to construct a road through the centre of Kilkenny between the cathedral precinct and the rest of the city. When the Anglo-Normans established their new town of Kilkenny, they grafted it on to the cathedral enclosure, which they preserved as Irishtown. The two existed for centuries side by side as parts of a whole urban community. For modern planners to allow a wide, busy road to slice through the junction of the two roots of the city is disgraceful. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522465 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522448.html Madam, - On a recent holiday to Boston, my husband and I (both pensioners) were struck by the friendliness and good manners of the people we encountered every day, and most of all by the way we were always given seats on the train. As soon as we boarded someone would stand up and offer us their seat - and usually more than one person would do this. When our daughter and our grandchildren were with us, the same went for them. Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522448 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522478.html Madam, - It was heartening to read what series producer Seamus Cassidy had to say about future editions of RTÉ's The Panel (Arts, November 11th). He said that henceforth the programme would "be saying harder things about the news, with less effing and more politics". Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522478 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/1121/1227137522484.html Madam, - I know there are many more important things to get worked up about, but I can't help myself: the photograaph in last Saturday's Irish Times  of a minor English celebrity opening a new €5 million jewellery department in Brown Thomas made me choke on my toast! Text Letters TopStories 2008-11-21T00:00:00 1227137522484