Madam, - Your Editorial of September 4th comments on the fact that future immigrants to the UK may be obliged to undergo a citizenship programme.
You welcome this as a worthwhile initiative and recommend that the Irish Government ought to examine Mr Blunkett's document with the aim of introducing something similar here.
However, as a means towards developing a citizenship programme of our own, the notion, as suggested by you, that the Government should start a dialogue with voluntary agencies already trying to help immigrants in this State is weak and potentially flawed.
On the evidence to date, such agencies have already exhibited themselves to be too partisan and emotionally involved with regard to the question of immigration and asylum. Ideally a programme of sound citizenship ought to be founded on objective and impartial principles. However, any programme resulting from a "dialogue" with the agencies you have in mind would inevitably be overly politicised and degenerate into a travesty of what it ought ideally to be.
It is not hard to see how a citizenship programme that was allowed to be unduly influenced by such agencies, would prove to be little more than a series of tutorials on how to claim benefits and how to avoid the authentic responsibilities and duties of citizenship. - Yours, etc.,
THOMAS P. WALSH, Faussagh Road, Cabra, Dublin 7.