Use of the term 'non-national'

Madam, - I was delighted to see the comments of Fianna Fáil TD Pat Carey as reported in your edition of May 15th.

Madam, - I was delighted to see the comments of Fianna Fáil TD Pat Carey as reported in your edition of May 15th.

As a non-Irish-born resident of this country who returned from Australia with my Irish-born wife and our two children some four years ago, I have been continually annoyed by the use of the term "non-national".

As Mr Carey correctly points out, very few people living in Ireland have no nationality, which is what this term can imply. Our own family is in the fortunate position of having two nationalities, as I am sure do many families where one parent was not born in Ireland.

Yet this term is widely used by the media (including The Irish Times) every day and has come into common usage.

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I urge the Minister for Justice to review the use of this term as quickly as possible. - Yours, etc,

Dr BRETT LYNAM, Currabaha, Co Waterford.