Sir, - Mr Philip Orr's letter (February 25th) is full of sound and fury and paints a very pessimistic picture for unionism but his analysis does not stack up.
He writes that UK membership brings ". . . almost no perceived economic benefits to most Ulster people . . ." It is still the case that living standards in Northern Ireland are marginally higher that those in the South (this was confirmed by Garret FitzGerald's Irish Times article of January 15th). Whilst recognising the Celtic Tiger phenomenon, I would rather take my chances within a single UK market of 59 million people than a Republic of Ireland of 3.7 million (which is also part of the struggling euro-zone).
Mr Orr then blasts unionism as ". . . schismatic, internationally unpopular and slow to reform itself". Given that the Ulster Unionist Party has fulfilled its obligations within both the Belfast Agreement and the subsequent Mitchell Review, I would have thought that Mr Orr's words apply much more aptly to republicanism. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Esmond Birnie, MLA (Ulster Unionist), Parliament Buildings, Belfast BT4 3XX