Madam. - Platitudes about a multiracial, ethnically diverse, culturally plural society make me retch.
It is fine for people to move as individuals, but when it becomes a mass movement, it is a different matter. It provides a boost to the economy in the short term by increasing the economically active percentage of the population, boosting demand and spending.
But soon the disadvantages appear. As dependants arrive, costs to the taxpayers increase. The long-term effect is to reduce the quality of life of the original population. Even worse is possible. The more an ethnic group differs from the host society, the less it disperses and the less its ability to achieve advancement. Its second and third generations can be separate, dangerous, and prolific, the platitudes long ago evaporated.
This country is farmed and urbanised already to an unsustainable level. When fuel, food and water run short, how much will we appreciate multi-cultural diversity? - Yours, etc,
SEAN O'LOINSIGH,
Roger Casement Terrace,
Glasheen Road,
Cork.