Letters: Parties of the left can stay in the shadows or get real about being in a coalition

Labour, the party Mr Rabbitte and his colleagues merged with after the Rainbow government in 1997, did get some hope from the recent elections.

There is life in the old dog yet.

Labour, the oldest political party in the State, was founded by James Connolly and Jim Larkin.

Its most spectacular recent result was the election of Aodhán Ó Ríordáin to the EU Parliament. I am sure Paddy Power would have given good odds on that a few months ago.

Mr Rabbitte is right when he talks about the new configuration of parties. Things have changed a great deal from the time he was in politics.

Labour has suffered from its time in government, and the people who supported it have never forgiven the party for the austerity that was necessary to save the country at the time.

Labour has paid dearly. In the past it always bounced back with new personalities such as Dick Spring, Barry Desmond, Eamon Gilmore, Mr Rabbitte and Alan Kelly.

The big problem today is there are so many parties on the left that people are confused. Labour’s politicians have been cast as the whipping boys.

But Mr Rabbitte is right – the parties of the left have to get serious about government or they will cease to have any relevance.

Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo

The ‘ladies’ are just as bad as the ‘gents’ from my own experience of public loos

I enjoyed the opinion column by Sinéad Ryan regarding gender-neut­ral public toilets (‘It should be all mná and no man when it comes to public loos’, Irish Independent, June 19). I agree that having a single facility for all patrons has major drawbacks.

Aside from longer waiting times, there is also the issue of privacy to be considered.

However, I believe Ms Ryan paints a rather rosy picture of female habits in this context. Having worked in a nightclub, I can attest that ladies often leave the place in at least as bad a state as the gents – toilet paper festooned everywhere, hairs blocking drains, cosmetics residues, broken glass and other inconveniences.

As for the long-standing argument of seat etiquette, that is one that I will never win.

Manny Lange, Clonakilty, Co Cork

After sleaze, Brexit and ineptitude, Tories are in for a rude awakening

Given the large number of UK voters – a good many Tory voters – who still think Brexit was a glorious win for “Merrie Olde England”, it seems incongruous that Labour is set for a landslide victory next month.

Could this have anything to do with 13 years of sleazy misrule, Brexit, five dreadful prime ministers and a motley and inept bunch of chancellors?

David Ryan, Co Meath

Hamas is the problem, not Israel, so the world needs to refocus its attentions

The article by Tariq Kenney Shawa paints a picture of Gaza as being a peace-loving land and all its problems relate to Israel (‘How Israeli occupation is rotting Gaza from the inside out’, Irish Independent, June 19).

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and there was no blockade of Gaza.

The blockade came into force after Hamas came to power, after a civil war against Fatah that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Fatah members, including two United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) personnel. Fatah was expelled from Gaza.

Two days after Hamas came to power, the small Christian community were attacked and a school and a convent were ransacked, burnt and looted. The Christian community were warned to abide by Islamic law.

Israel and Eygpt imposed a blockade on Gaza to try to stop Hamas stockpiling weapons to attack Israel.

Hamas has vowed to wipe Israel off the map and refuses to recognise Israel. Imagine what Hamas would have achieved if the blockade had not been in place last October 7.

In the 17 years Hamas has been in power, there have been no elections. It has built hundreds of tunnels and managed to stockpile thousands of rockets, 15,000 of which have been fired into Israel since October 7.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and there won’t be peace as long as it remains in power. It uses its people as human shields while it continues to attack Israel and hold on to over 120 hostages. The quicker the world acts against Hamas, not Israel, the quicker peace will be achieved.

Anthony Costello, Galway

Fools rush in, so we ought to take one day at a time in this topsy-turvy summer

It’s Midsummer’s Day and we are having a topsy-turvy summer so far. Even the green leaves are shedding prematurely. We seem impatient to get to the future, so maybe we should listen to the song One Day at a Time.

Another piece of advice given is: “If you want to give God a laugh, tell us what you will do next month.”

Politicians should also take note.

Leo Gormley, Dundalk, Co Louth

On the longest day of the year, we have no excuse not to do something fun

Yesterday was the longest day of the year, so we have no excuses this week for not taking some time out to do something we enjoy. The clock is ticking.

M O Brien, Dalkey, Co Dublin

Home rugby nations’ TV coverage of pitch clashes deserves closer scrutiny

In the Leinster v Bulls match, Jami­son Gibson-Park was cleared from a ruck and left the field for a head injury assessment, not to return.

The broadcaster showing the match gave a very brief view of the incident and, on replay, it seemed to have cut it entirely.

French TV, in particular, is great at showing misdemeanours of the visiting team, but any suggestion of something like a forward pass when the home team score a try is quickly dropped. The question of how much the home nation’s media influences the game must be addressed.

Dr Michael Foley, Rathmines, Dublin 6

Stonehenge paint attacks shows prehistoric mindset under the guise of protest

The Stonehenge attack is to be condemned by all. The anti-oil protest attack is prehistoric thinking in a world where social media platforms can spread messages to millions instantly. Spraying paint creates negative perceptions about issues.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia