Politicians only look out for their own interests

I HAVE resolved to pay just passing interest to what is going on in this country going forward.

I feel little commitment to matters such as referendums or the national furore concerning RTÉ, or indeed listening to the guff from the Government and the assorted political parties who appear, when even just lightly scrutinised, to simply have their own promotion as the only priority. I am of older vintage, and I find I cannot watch on television the horror from Gaza, inflicted by Israel, any longer. The murder of a whole nation is under way, without any telling input from the Dáil towards condemnation of Israel worthy of the term.

All politics in Ireland stems from EU dictation, with domestic matters purely of the parochial, powerless variety. Irish voters simply rubber-stamp the will of politicians, who are primarily interested in their careers and future prospects as a result.

Someone who expresses deep concern for humanity in Ireland is likely to be told: ‘Leave it to the politicians, they know best.’

But they do not. The politics of the heart must have a place in guiding our decent responses.

ROBERT SULLIVAN, Bantry, Co. Cork.

...OVER 30,000 Palestinian individuals have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the majority of whom were women and children, and this is probably a significant underestimate.

According to the United Nations, 140 UN workers have been killed, while more than 122 journalists and media workers have lost their lives in Gaza.

The truth is also another casualty in this genocidal war. Western media, including Irish media, are being corralled within Israel and not allowed into Gaza.

They are being fed war propaganda by the Israeli military and government spokespersons.

In the atrocity on February 29, at least 112 starving Palestinians were killed, and hundreds more injured, mainly by Israeli soldiers firing automatic weapons at unarmed civilians.

By the time this letter is published, many more Palestinians will have been killed.

Significant elements of the international community are actively complicit in this genocide, including the US, and the most powerful members of Nato and the European Union.

Ireland is also complicit by allowing the US military to transit through Shannon Airport on their way to and from the Middle East. Too many stood idly by and allowed genocide to occur in the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and elsewhere. In 2024, we can no longer claim that we did not know this genocide was occurring.

EDWARD HORGAN, Castletroy, Limerick.

You’re on camera

WHEN this legislation comes in for Garda bodycams, should the public wear them also?

AIDAN McGRORY, by email.

Marriage undermined

THE two parts in the proposed constitutional amendment on the family are contradictory. One parts states: ‘The State pledges to guard with special care the institution of marriage and to protect it against attack.’

The other part then proposes that a ‘durable relationship’ is the equivalent of marriage and will get the same recognition, privileges and protection. Unlike marriage, a ‘durable relationship’ involves no moral, social or spiritual commitment and provides no incentive or responsibility on a couple to remain together when a relationship is facing difficulties.

This is another step by our elected representatives to dismantle the traditional view of marriage as the basis for the family and a lifelong commitment – and as such it demands a massive rejection by the electorate.

FRANK O’CONNOR, Blarney, Co. Cork.