Sir, - If and when the Government starts to deport individuals who have been resident in this state for over a year (and up to four), waiting for that same Government to sort out the mess it calls asylum policy, will the real progressive institutions in Irish society please stand up?
It is simply unjust to deport someone who has developed links and set roots here for that long and even more so when the cause of their elongated stay was Government neglect.
Fair play to such groups as the Socialist Workers Party who make the effort to protest but they are simply not representative in any meaningful way and are thus dismissed by decision-makers and ignored by most people. The challenge therefore is to the ICTU and in particular SIPTU, the Labour party and all our diverse NGOs. There are other ways of expressing oneself in a democratic society than through the parliament and partnership agreements. Will our civic society rise to the challenge? - Yours, etc.,
Adrian Langan, Christchurch, Dublin 8.