North is truly blessed to have sensible leadership

THERE’S a big difference between those in leadership and those coveting the leadership role.

Leadership entails compromise at some point. We could hold out indefinitely for infinite demands to be met, but in the real world, or realpolitik, such adventurism is reckless and irresponsible.

It’s easy to barrack from the sidelines, but leadership has to deal with matters above and beyond tribal point-scoring.

Northern Ireland has come a long way since the 1970s, and those now in leadership roles are a reflection of how our society has progressed. Remember the ‘leadership’ when they were wearing dark glasses and military berets? Both sides by the way – and that’s not me just being impartial. I can remember, in the 1970s, one party leader calling another ‘an ignorant gulpin’ live on air.

The people of the North have a 99% shared vision – the desire for better healthcare, education and social housing. The present leadership, to a large extent, reflects that 99% commonality. One has to look beyond the rage and thunder to see it for what it is. We’re blessed for having the present leadership in the North – all sides.

LOUIS SHAWCROSS, Hillsborough, Co. Down.

Mobile solutions

YES, mobile phones should be banned in schools, but no, it won’t work. Most classroom mobile use is not for talking but for the various social (or actually unsocial) media and that is readily available on computer devices that are actually needed. Social media should be banned at home – at least until homework is done – but that option has long been unsupported by parents.

Talking to my students about classroom distractions, they agreed they’d learn better without phones but feared missing out if others were able to still use them. They couldn’t understand how I survived in the 60s or 70s without a phone in the house. The reality in schools must be improved, with capable teachers in all classrooms on an ongoing basis and a more industrious attitude from students – but that approach may be a distant memory from my youth. DENNIS FITZGERALD,

Melbourne, Australia.

Protect our wildlife

WITH the economy and public finances in reasonably good shape, there can be no excuse for the Government backtracking on commitments to set up a fully funded, trained, and adequately staffed Wildlife Crime Unit to crack down on those who wreak havoc on our ostensibly protected wild species and habitats.

Aside from those well-publicised incidents of people shooting or poisoning rare birds, or ones the National Parks and Wildlife Service is attempting to reintroduce, there’s a daily all-out attack on a range of birds and animals that, on paper, are shielded from harm.

Badgers are taken by gambling gangs to pits where dogs are set on then, resulting in prolonged pain and suffering followed by death. Other ‘sportsmen’ roam the countryside with lurchers or assorted mongrel breeds and place bets on how many hares they can kill.

Though deer-hunting with hounds was banned in 2010, packs can still be seen in some areas, with masked men on horseback riding behind them. The stags are chased until they drop from exhaustion and left to either recover from the ordeal, or die of their injuries.

The establishment of a body dedicated to tackling this attack on our precious native fauna, and the ravaging of habitats that are among the most poorly preserved in Europe, would represent an enormous step forward for Irish wildlife conservation.

Everyone concerned about our unique and severely threatened mammals should call on the Government to set up the longpromised Wildlife Crime Unit. JOHN FITZGERALD, Callan, Co. Kilkenny.