Sir, – I hope I am not the only one who finds it deeply ironic that the US president is telling the Europeans to sort out their finances. The phrase “kettle and pot” springs to mind.
He should not be surprised to find that it would be more productive to lead by example and clear the Augean stables in the US first, before exhorting anybody else to show the way.
Having succeeded in that task, the rest would be easy.
I think it would be better for us if America were to be remembered as being like Hercules, rather than Sisyphus. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Throughout Ireland’s economic difficulties since 2008, a great deal of Euroscepticism has been espoused to an unjustified extent. Perhaps your front-page report (September 15th) on the decision of the European authorities to provide their portion of Irish bailout loans at cost price should provide ample food for thought in this regard.
It highlights further how fortunate we are to have secured the provision of funding commitments from the ECB and the European Financial Stability Facility. At present, it has been noted internationally that the Irish position has improved substantially in recent months, and co-operation with the EU has proved essential in this process.
Some, particularly in left-wing groupings such as Sinn Féin and the United Left Alliance, have consistently and erroneously argued that we would be better off with an increased detachment from Europe. However, if there is one thing that the ongoing crisis has demonstrated, it is that, in macro-economic terms at least, no country is an island, least of all Ireland. – Yours, etc,