ROBIN HANAN,
Madam, - Dr Garret FitzGerald's useful analysis of the Irish inputs to the Convention on the Future of Europe (Opinion & Analysis, January 18th) omitted one important strand - organised civil society.
Non-governmental organisations, in co-operation with the trade unions, have been active in setting the agenda for the convention and challenging its members to put social justice, human rights and sustainable development at the heart of the new EU Constitution.
The convention is the most fundamental re-thinking of the EU's role and working methods since the Treaty of Rome. If it is to be relevant to the EU's peoples and re-ignite enthusiasm for the "European Project", it needs a new set of values and it needs mechanisms to translate these values into actions.
The challenge for the Irish Convention members, and for the media, is to ensure that these concerns are treated as seriously as the structural issues which have dominated public debate here. - Yours, etc.,
ROBIN HANAN, European Anti-Poverty Network, Ireland and Platform of European Social NGOs;
MICHAEL SMITH, An Taisce and European Environment Bureau;
SEAN LOVE, Amnesty International, Irish section;
HANS ZOMER, Dóchas (Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations).