Letters: Out-of-touch Taoiseach Simon Harris is intent on steering us in same direction as France

At least he recognises that he is completely out of touch. He would get on well with Emmanuel Macron, who said in 2017: “There is no such thing as French culture.”

They could swap their accepted elite liberal views any day at any EU summit, but they would learn more in a Belfast or Derry pub.

Macron’s party has been trounced by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (NR) in the French election. The NR is described by some as far-right, but it holds views that were considered reasonable 20 years ago: a desire for a reasonable level of immigration that allows integration; a toughness on crime; a consideration for the people of the country outside of the capital; and a resistance to both extreme Islam and reality-denying wokeism.

Common sense is in short supply in extreme liberal circles.

One need only consider that Joe Biden is still president of the most powerful country in the world and is still in the running for the next term.

Harris is intent on steering Ireland in the direction Macron has set for France. One can only hope that he will be similarly trounced by a party of people who have actually visited Belfast or Derry, or indeed come from them.

Dominic Gallagher, Glenavy, Co Antrim

US president should have immunity for official acts carried out in line of duty

It is folly to think that any president of the United States shouldn’t have immunity for “official” acts.

The Commander in Chief is ultim­ately responsible for the safety and security of the United States and its citizens.

Executive functions include kill orders against deemed terrorist groups or individuals, decisions to go to war and many other unpleasant functions we are probably best not knowing about.

While Congress and the Senate have a role, the executive decisions by the president are above the law as we know it because he is ultimately responsible.

Obviously, personal acts by the president made outside the executive function should be and are subject to the law. The US Supreme Court found in Donald Trump’s favour 6-3, but what was strange and suggests political bias was that the decision was not unanimous. The Supreme Court did not interpret what were considered official acts and left that decision to the lower court.

Closer to home, in the UK, the monarch is above the law both for criminal and personal acts. Civil and criminal proceedings cannot be taken against King Charles.

But Charles may be careful to ensure that all his activities in his personal capacity are carried out in strict accordance with the law. That is as far as one will get, and the same should apply to the president of the US.

Impeachment is the remedy when a president transgresses within office, but by and large the law should not interfere, otherwise it will lead to a different kind of chaos.

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 1

Vat rate for the hospitality sector must be cut or more businesses will shut down

When the collection of Vat from the public affects business viability, the Vat rate needs to be reduced.

This is the position the hospitality sector finds itself in after the increase in Vat from 9pc to 13.5 pc. The average European rate is 9pc.

One of the excuses for increasing the Vat level was the room prices in Dublin’s high-end hotels last year. These hotels represent less than 1pc of the national industry, and the aver­age rate in Dublin over the season was €230 a night, which compares favourably internationally.

The bodies who sought the increase were the Greens, the Department of Finance and the Congress of Trade Unions, cheered on by RTÉ, the master of public expenditure waste.

None of those bodies have any experience of running a business.

The Vat rate increase came after enormous increases in the prices of food and energy. It was quickly followed by excessive increases in employers’ PRSI, with more to come. Add to that the costs for businesses of the additional bank holiday in February.

Before the Vat increase, seven restaurants in Mullingar closed down. Two businesses that I know have had to treat the extra Vat as an extra overhead to maintain competitiveness.

Businesses affected by the Vat increase need to protest. The withholding of rates nationally should be considered.

Denis Larkin, Mullingar, Co Westmeath

Culture of threatening politicians is nothing new, but it is very dangerous

When the coalition government under Liam Cosgrove from 1973 to 1976 talked tough about law and order, the Emergency Powers Bill was set to go through the Oireachtas.

This sparked a constitutional crisis in 1976 when the President, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, referred the bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality. The minister for defence at the time, Paddy Donegan, a publican by trade, was attending a function in Collins Barracks and called the president a “thundering disgrace”. Mr Donegan offered his resignation to the taoiseach, but the taoiseach refused to accept it and the President ended up resigning.

This bill comes to mind when reading Frank Coughlan’s recent piece about the bomb threat to Simon Harris (‘Threat to Taoiseach and family was depraved and it reminds us that the knuckle-draggers haven’t gone away’, Irish Independent, July 2).

Frank gives good details about Des O’Malley sleeping with a gun under his pillow and the murder of senator Billy Fox in 1974. Forty years after that incident, we had Joan Burton trapped in her ministerial car for hours. There seems to be a dangerous culture out there about threatening politicians.

I believe in encouraging people to enter public life, but if people see our Taoiseach and his wife and children being subjected to such threats, it will deter them.

Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo

History had a very simple solution to transporting Guinness through the city

While reading the business section of your paper on Wednesday, I found the article on re-routing up to 40 Guinness lorries a day to Dublin Port.

The issue could be solved by a simple history lesson. In the 1870s, Guinness had a fleet of barges on the Liffey to transport their casks to Dublin Port from St James’s Gate.

Seamus Joyce, Richmond, London