The NHS may well be at breaking point, but things aren’t much better on the other side of the border

MALACHI O’Doherty, whom I used to enjoy as a very balanced commentator, has, of late, taken to a more green tinge in his musings.

In his latest column (Comment, November 26), he makes the case that one reason for retaining Northern Ireland’s union with Great Britain, the National Health Service, is in ruins, so it is only a matter of time before we are in a united Ireland.

He does, in fairness, mention that Sinn Fein’s refusal to govern has something to do with this.

Added to that, Michelle O’Neill tells us that the £9.5billion sent here from London is irrelevant, and that once we are in a united Ireland, the money will flow from somewhere, our living standards will be much higher and all will be sweet.

Maybe the international internet companies that are so fond of the Republic are going to help out?

In the real world, meanwhile, I think about my friend in Dublin, who last month was lambasting her GP, who told her that her arthritic toes where not yet bad enough to put her on the two-year waiting list to see a consultant. She said: “I had to pay him €50 to tell me that.”

Now, that is before another 1.8 million of us uppity northerners arrive looking for our sun cream on free prescription.

The grass sometimes seems greener on the other side of the fence, or, in this case, the border.

RAYMOND HUGHES Ballyclare, Co Antrim