Letters: Money is going in wrong direction when it comes to recycling household waste

Brian Ahern, Clonsilla, D15 ​

No light at the end of the tunnel for any tourists arriving at Dublin Port

Is there any particular reason why, on arriving by ferry at Dublin Port, all of the signage directing traffic to the ���City Centre” brings you to the Port Tunnel, where you cannot turn around?

Trying to decipher the correct approach or departure from the city using such an undefined system would lead most drivers to despair.

Perhaps it was built on a fairy fort. The little people are good at revenge.

Eugene Tannam, Firhouse Dublin 24

Framing French elections as failure for Le Pen shows just how deluded the left is

I find it hilarious how some commentators and the media are framing the French elections. The real story is that Marine Le Pen’s party has gone from eight seats in 2017 to 89 seats in 2022 to 143 seats in 2024. This represents an astronomical increase in seats in a mere seven years, yet it is somehow perceived by some as a failure.

Her party is also the biggest single-party entity with the exception of the hastily-cobbled-together patchwork coalition, which is near certain to end in tears.

Based on these figures and trends, all Le Pen will have to do is let the far-left globalists keep doing what they are doing – putting their heads in the sand regarding immigration – and her party should walk into power in the not-too-distant future.

Seamus Hanratty, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan

UK Labour re-emerges with energy and trust – and not a moment too soon

Unsurprisingly, Keir Starmer has delivered on expectations and takes on the mantle of UK governance. It will be a mammoth task.

One can only hope the incoming brigade have the necessary drive and empathy for the task, because the latter years of Tory management patently lacked both.

The old adage by Otto von Bismarck, that politics is simply the art of the possible, holds true.

Fourteen years languishing in opposition could have blunted their edge, but Starmer seems to have produced a trustworthy outfit with a degree of ethical fibre. All in all, the Labour success offers some genuine hope of a renewed stability. We wish them well.

Jim Cosgrove Lismore, Co Waterford

Ireland still has major role to play in curbing Israel’s aggression in Palestine

Ireland needs to provide an early and practical response to Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that the Israeli government plans “to strengthen settlement in Judea and Samaria”.

These lands are also known as the occupied Palestinian territories. Though deemed illegal under international law, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have already risen to over 600,000.

This has been associated with a marked rise in violent deaths, arson and seizures of Palestinian land. Any plans for peace will continue to be further obstructed.

The much-mentioned “two-state solution” would involve a dominant Israel and a Palestinian state comprised of a devastated Gaza and an increasingly annexed West Bank.

Ireland’s welcome recognition of Palestine will have little impact on this immediate situation, but our Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) could be effective in some way.

The OTB aims to eliminate profiteering from exports from invaded lands. It is likely to be taken up by many countries worldwide. Though modest and peaceful, it can help hasten a Middle East ceasefire and tilt the negotiating imbalance towards dialogue.

Introduced in 2018, the OTB gained large majority support in both the Seanad and Dáil. However, it was not included in the Coalition’s Programme for Government after the 2020 election.

Since then, we have all seen the massacres in Gaza, southern Israel and the West Bank. The killing and scattering of innocents is ongoing, despite nine months of failed peace initiatives.

It is unthinkable that Ireland’s potential to help, with its innovative OTB, is not being offered.

David Clinch, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin

Thrilling hurling fare puts painfully boring Euro 2024 soccer matches to shame

Apart from the penalty shoot-outs and the Turkey v Netherlands match, much of what we’ve seen so far at Euro 2024 has been drab and boring – like watching grey paint drying slowly on a featureless wall.

On the other hand, seeing the Clare v Kilkenny and Cork v Limerick hurling semi-finals was like witnessing Van Gogh at work – inspired touches, explosions of colour, breathtaking masterpieces.

Chris Fitzpatrick, Dublin 6

International tournament now feels like race to crown continent’s penalty kings

Is Euro 2024 a tournament based on winning games of football, or is it a tournament to decide the team with the best penalty shoot-out takers in Europe? You’d be forgiven for wondering.

Peter Declan O’Halloran , Belturbet, Co Cavan

Fear of defeat overpowers teams’ will to win, leading to a void of entertainment

Most games at Euro 2024 have been about not losing, with an extreme focus on negativity and a distinct lack of willingness to entertain.

This writer has completely lost interest and couldn’t give a hoot who wins this over-hyped, over-bloated sham.

David Ryan, Co Meath

Women experiencing crisis pregnancies not helped by alarming abortion figures

It was a joy to see thousands of people marching through O’ Connell Street on Saturday expressing concern at Ireland’s spiralling abortion numbers. Figures published by the Department of Health for 2023 inform us that 10,033 abortions took place last year, which was nearly 2,000 more than in 2022.

The organisers of the march called for the Government to establish a taskforce to discuss the issues contributing to this increase, which is to be welcomed.

Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, we should all agree that these figures are shocking. Any supports that could be implemented to help reduce these numbers would be of benefit to the women experiencing crisis pregnancies.

​Eamonn O’Hara, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal