Sir, – Two recent excellent pieces by Kathy Sheridan and Diarmaid Ferriter respectively (“Irish people are wrong about immigration, but are we ready for our own Trump?”, Opinion, January 21st, and “Irish ignorance about the Holocaust isn’t new but social media has supercharged it”, Opinion, January 22nd) highlight disturbingly high levels of ignorance among Irish people about two very important matters: immigration and the Holocaust.
For a not-insubstantial cohort of the Irish public, there is a clearly a gulf between perception and fact.
People’s perceptions are shaped by information (including disinformation and misinformation), propaganda, well-documented human biases (including confirmation bias and myside bias that lead people to favour information that reinforces their existing beliefs), and downright lies.
When facts are absent, unclear or poorly communicated, misconceptions can flourish.
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It behoves not only the media and educators, but also bodies such as the Central Statistics Office, to communicate objective, evidence-based data via social media in ways that people tend to access information in this “visual era”, namely via videos, images, graphs, summaries, without compromising objectivity or accuracy.
Critical thinking and media literacy should form part of the school curriculum.
When it comes to disinformation, misinformation, propaganda and lies, the saying “sunlight is the best disinfectant” springs to mind.
Facts and evidence alone may not change minds – especially when biases lead people to seek false comfort in “alternative facts” – but they are indispensable in helping people to determine the truth on important matters.
In this era of disinformation, misinformation, polarisation and media fragmentation, communicating objective data and evidence in an effective and clear way is nothing short of a democratic necessity. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – Your story “Almost 1 in 10 young Irish adults believe Holocaust was a myth” (January 21st) was depressing reading but it did not entirely shock me.
The letter from Holocaust Education Ireland (January 26th) has set out reasons for this denial, along with their recommendations for building awareness in schools – these should be taken up by the relevant education authorities.
The personal evidence of Holocaust survivors – as with all atrocities – is of prime importance.
We now also have the documentary evidence of the Holocaust from primary archival sources, as researched by historians, human rights activists, etc.
Such clear evidence was not available to my generation of school-leavers but we were aware that awful things had happened.
When, in 1972-73, I spent a year in Israel studying archaeology while teaching English to Palestinian children, I had the deep privilege to meet Polish and Czech female survivors.
Their haunting stories – and the need to hear them – have lived with me all my life.
On home ground, and in another context, it influenced our Meath Peace Group to ask survivors of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, whom we had got to know personally, to visit and speak to secondary school students in Meath as part of our youth empowerment courses (1995-2015).
This was aided by welcome financial support from the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund. – Yours, etc,
JULITTA CLANCY,
Batterstown,
Co Meath.
Ireland and defence
Sir, – Tánaiste Simon Harris says that the EU needs “to become more self-reliant not just in terms of defence but also in relation to economic, cyber and digital security” (“Trump tariffs threat a ‘wake-up call’ for Europe, says Harris”, Home News, January 24th). As minister for defence, Mr Harris secured half of the ¤3.4 billion capital funding he sought for the Defence Forces under the National Development Plan Review 2025 .
The thought occurs that, now, as Minister for Finance, it should be no bother to Mr Harris to untrouser the other €1.7 billion for the procurement needs of the Defence Forces which he identified in his previous role, as we strive for greater self- reliance on defence. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN CONWAY,
New Quay,
Co Clare.
Sir, – I was surprised to read in Conor Gallagher’s article that Ireland has spent close to €600,000 with an Israeli firm for drones (“As Ireland strengthens its military, one country and company gain the most,” January 24th).
Surely we can source these drones from other countries so as not to be complicit in Israel’s genocide and apartheid of the people of Palestine? – Yours, etc,
TOM HARPER,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Ireland and neutrality
Sir, – George Parsons recommends that the Irish should “grow up and give something back to the world” by dropping our military neutrality and joining Nato (Letters, January 26th).
I cannot agree with his suggestion that Ireland becoming a member of Nato – which we couldn’t afford anyway because of the GDP expenditure required – would amount to a positive development.
Indeed, in an era of increasing militarism and coarseness in international diplomacy, it is surely counterintuitive to view entering a military alliance as a helpful intervention.
If we truly want to give back to the world, then we should be looking at how we can engage most effectively in defence of democratic and human rights, and against a drift to war and imperialist aggression.
At the heart of the current international turmoil are substantive political issues that require a political response, the most pressing of which is how we react to relentless efforts to undermine international law and key multilateral institutions such as the UN and the International Criminal Court.
Most obviously, US president Donald Trump’s antipathy to the existing multilateral bodies is well known and he is even working on his own dodgy alternative, the so-called Board of Peace – run by himself (for life, it seems) and embodying the most appalling of colonial assumptions.
It is disturbing that Taoiseach Micheál Martin did not immediately rule out involvement by Ireland in Mr Trump’s dangerous initiative.
Of course, there is little new in the “might is right” imperialist doctrine championed by authoritarian figures such as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin but unchecked it will almost certainly lead us towards an even more unequal and violent world.
In this context, Ireland has to resist the temptations of militarism and focus instead in our foreign policy on protecting international law and representative multilateralism. We should not fatalistically assume that this battle is already lost.
Within the EU, too, Ireland must raise its voice consistently on these issues. This is essential because the EU does not have clean hands with regard to international law.
Look at its reaction to Israel’s egregious behaviour in Gaza compared with how it behaved in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hypocrisy has a corrosive effect.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney was correct when he pointed to the asymmetric application of international law, whereby powerful states have habitually excluded themselves from some of its strictures.
Israel has been allowed to slaughter tens of thousands of Palestinians unhindered by any meaningful EU sanctions.
In fact, Israel has received strong support from some EU states, as well as from the US.
We have difficulties also in Ireland, where the Government’s dogged reluctance to enact the Occupied Territories Bill is plainly because this might attract US disapproval. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dither while Israel bulldozes UN buildings in occupied Jerusalem and Palestinians are routinely killed.
In addition, the planned abolition of the triple lock for Irish military deployment abroad is sending negative signals about the UN.
The Irish Government should be pushing for deep reform within the UN and not engaging in distancing exercises.
As a militarily neutral state, Ireland can play a positive role at this critical juncture in world affairs by insisting on the equal application of international law and by opposing the spread of authoritarianism and militarism.
That is what this State’s foreign policy should focus on. – Yours, etc,
FINTAN LANE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Visit to the White House
Sir, – In light of the recent atrocities perpetrated in the United States by the current administration and those acting on its behalf, I urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin to reconsider his annual visit to the White House for St Patrick’s Day.
Let the representative of the Irish people not be reduced to a Father Ted caricature lamely bleating “down with this sort of thing” at a disinterested megalomaniac.
At a minimum, if a visit is necessary, let it be accompanied by a stopover in Minneapolis to offer condolences to the families of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, and show the United States that Irish eyes are definitely not smiling this time. – Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE Ní ANNRACHÁIN,
Zurich,
Switzerland.
Sir, – Surely after the killing of innocent civilians in the US, by what can only be described as untrained storm troopers, it is time for the Government to dispense with the fawning spectacle of presenting a bowl of shamrock to a US president who has no regard for human rights or international law.
I am quite sure that if this event goes ahead, we will be the laughing stock of Europe. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN McDONALD,
Terenure,
Dublin 12.
Screen time and children
Sir, – Two things astonish me from reading Tobias Constien’s letter “Young children and screen time”, (Letters, January 26th).
One, that “30 per cent of toddlers (18-36 months old) exceed the HSE-recommended threshold of 60 minutes or less per day”.
And two, that the HSE has such a recommendation in the first instance.
What “recommendation” does the HSE have in suggesting that parents need to put away phones and devices and engage with their children and nurture them free from such malign influences?
Or has everyone just given up on that quaint notion and delegated screentime as the baby minder and personality shaper? – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS FINN,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway.
Outside appointments
Sir, – With reference to Brian Flanagan’s letter (January 24th) and his proposal to change and facilitate the appointment of “some quality experienced outsiders” to become ministers, this power already exists in our Constitution via the taoiseach’s right to appoint a number of senators to the Seanad and thus the possibility of appointment to Cabinet.
This last occurred in the Garret FitzGerald-led government in 1981 with the appointment of the then retired senator James Dooge as minister for foreign affairs.
If a taoiseach is so minded to appoint an experienced technocrat, it can be done. – Yours, etc,
PETER McCORMACK,
Dublin 4.
Showing your passport
Sir, – Your correspondent Ciarán Ó Meachair makes a common mistake in his interpretation of the operation of the Common Travel Area.
The rules only permit Irish and British citizens to travel freely between the two jurisdictions.
With both countries having large non-national populations, the existence of passport controls in Irish airports are necessary and legitimate.
While the main British airports take a more laissez-faire attitude to these passport checks, realistically how many people travel by air without their passport which is the easiest way to prove qualifying citizenship and the right to pass unhindered? – Yours, etc,
DAVID LOUGHLIN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – When arriving at Dublin Airport from the UK, which I do on a frequent basis, I always make a point of showing my driving licence, in preference to my passport, in order to make the point that I do not require a passport to travel through the Common Travel Area.
This usually results in a question as to where I have flown in from. On presentation of this information, I’m then graciously welcomed home, which is always a pleasant experience.
I suspect Ryanair’s insistence that all flights require a passport or passport card in order to travel (which is not legally required) is at the root of immigration officers’ assumption that one will present a passport. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN YEO,
Churchtown,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
E-scooters and safety
Sir, – Apparently half of the people involved in e-scooter accidents end up in the ICU. Imagine if motorcyclists balanced upright on their seats and weaved in and out of traffic lanes, rode up on the uneven footpaths, travelled on underpasses and footbridges, emerged from hedgerows in parks and rode the paths along waterways (often without a helmet or a light or safe way of dismounting urgently from their method of transport) with only headphones as protection. Hard to work out? – Yours, etc,
EUGENE TANNAM,
Dublin 24.
Remembering Paddy Clancy
Sir, – The Taoiseach quite rightly paid tribute to the late Paddy Clancy and his journalistic work over the decades, including the “It Says in the Papers” slot on Morning Ireland on RTÉ radio.
RTÉ might follow suit by reinstating “It Says in the Papers” at the weekend in his memory but also to support the excellent journalism that exists here in Ireland of which, in these troubled times, we need even more.
Later RTÉ weekend radio programmes reviewing the papers do not do justice anywhere near the style of Paddy Clancy, but other weekday presenters of “It Says in the Papers” are now matching his excellence which us weekend radio listeners would enjoy. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’CONNELL,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
