A chara, - In the course of his article ("Nigerians who pose as refugees are doing a disservice to themselves and their country", August 14th) Fr Daniel Ude Asue asks why the traditionally warm-hearted Irish have become "aggressive to foreigners all of a sudden". While I doubt very much that the vast majority of Irish are "aggressive to foreigners", although regrettably some might be, it would be fair to state that many Irish are concerned at the relatively large number of foreigners arriving here and claiming a right to take up permanent residence.
At the back of this concern, I believe, is a feeling that our Government is not in control of the situation, and nobody knows how many more foreigners will arrive over the next number of years. Because of extraordinary delays in determining who is a genuine refugee and who is not, the whole process seems to be falling into disrepute and to be fast becoming another rich meadow to be grazed by lawyers and barristers at the expense of the Irish taxpayer. Additionally, while Irish citizenship laws are wide open to exploitation, our Government seems powerless to act.
I believe Irish people are willing to take a fair proportion of the genuine refugees of the world, but we do not wish to be exploited to the obvious disadvantage of our own people. Also, we expect our Government to take charge of the situation and to sort it out, promptly. - Is mise,
Liam O Geibheannaigh, Ath an Ghainimh, Co Atha Cliath.