The scribes (with the notable exception of Kevin Myers) and the pharisees are giving the plain people of Ireland a rough ride over refugees. The public rebuke that "communities have no veto" was stark. The message of the calls for muscular leadership seems to be to put the communities in the stocks, rubbish their experiences from a moral eminence and pelt them with the errors of their ways.
William Hague, a figure of fun for many in Britain , nevertheless struck a chord in the pooling booths recently, despite (or maybe because of) a rap on the knuckles from Brussels. The message for politicians is, as always, listen to the people. Take heed of what they have to day. They are not all fools and knaves, as the finger- wagging scolders would have it. - Yours, etc.,
J.P. Duggan, Cedarmount Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.