Sir, – It would be wise to charge the British a fee in lieu of an extension of article 50. This may help pay some of the costs being incurred by the EU (including Ireland) for this ongoing mess. May I suggest €20 million per day after three months? That may help them concentrate their mind on resolving this matter as quickly as possible. – Yours, etc,
EOGHAN KAVANAGH,
Rathgar,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – David Cameron failed to anticipate the consequences of his decision to offer an "in-out" referendum. Theresa May started the article 50 countdown clock without any clear idea of the destination she was seeking before it expired. The British parliament remains deadlocked in discussions with itself, unwilling or unable to coalesce around any pragmatic way forward. As this chaotic Brexit trundles ever closer, thousands of hours and millions of euro have been consumed during negotiations and in contingency planning across businesses and governments throughout Europe. It is self-evident that this time and money could have been better spent elsewhere. An old adage, frequently employed in business, states: "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute a crisis on my part". Unfortunately for Ireland, that is no longer true. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL McDERMOTT,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Jeremy Corbyn has been increasingly called “pro-Brexit” by the media when he was simply more concerned with ending austerity than keeping the UK in the EU (“Labour to back second Brexit vote in effort to avoid no-deal outcome”, News, February 25th).
Forcing a people’s vote whatever the cost, even if it meant risking losing a general election, was always largely a middle-class obsession.
However, the Labour leadership was prepared to go through with Brexit as an acceptable price to pay for winning power and the chance to transform millions of ordinary British lives.
Mr Corbyn is a change agent.
He was the right man at the right moment to lead the Labour Party back to its socialist roots. Once more his timing is impeccable.
It’s now clear that Brexit is a total mess; only the most die-hard Leave voter could possibly object to Labour exploring all the UK’s options, including a second referendum.
Against all the odds, the Labour leader might be the one to offer Britain a way out of its Brexit debacle. – Yours, etc,
JOE McCARTHY,
Arbour Hill,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – There is still a chance that we may end up with the second Brexit referendum in Britain. The question however remains what choices exactly should be on the ballot paper. The two options currently proposed – the current EU/UK deal on offer or that Britain abandons its plan to leave the EU – would seem to be utterly undemocratic as they ignore the option that many undoubtedly did vote for the first time round, however ill-considered this may have been: leaving the European Union immediately without ifs and buts. The leading Brexiteers do have considerable support. That “out” option should therefore also be on the ballot paper. But in this case British pro-Europeans, of whom there are evidently also a significant number, should insist that a fourth option is available: no more half-hearted membership with a plethora of opt-out deals but full membership without ifs and buts, including joining the euro. The option of a full commitment to the European Union should also be on the ballot paper. The final decision between these four choices should then be determined in a second round between the two top choices, a system not unlike that used in the French presidential elections.
I would be surprised if the EU objected to this voting procedure. All the options would be covered, all the learning of the last two years would be used productively, and our British neighbours would undoubtedly in the end arrive at a better decision than they did last time. And the rest of us would know on the night of the second round where we stood. – Yours, etc,
JOACHIM FISCHER,
Ballina,
Co Tipperary.