Madam, – Ivana Bacik (14th July) seems to think that the economic downturn is breeding social conservatives. I have to say that witnessing the orgy years of the Celtic Tiger, with its destructive economic and social individualism, did more to confirm my own social conservatism than any recession could. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Senator Bacik is being disingenuous in her concern for absolute freedom of speech (July 14th). She is already on record (Seanad Report, February 5th) as supporting the main thrust of the new blasphemy law by her denunciation of Richard Williamson as a Holocaust-denier and thereby implicitly limiting the right to freedom of speech.
But maybe she only wishes to curtail freedom of speech to those viewpoints from which she differs.
As she is well aware the new blasphemy law has been framed in such a way as to make it almost unenforceable and this poor jurisprudence is sufficient reason to oppose it. The real solution here is to have the original anachronistic reference removed from the Constitution rather than compounding the problem with the passing of bad legislation.
I believe there is merit in having regularly scheduled referendums (every five years?) where these issues can be considered by the electorate. – Yours etc,
Madam, – As somebody who believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is God, it was with great shock and moral indignation that I read Emmet Malone’s surly and mean-spirited account of Real Madrid’s visit to Carton House (“Real stars fail to ignite Carton”, July 15th).
By referring to my deity of choice as being “the world’s poutiest player”, Malone’s article constitutes a direct attack on my beliefs. Under the terms of the new legislation regarding blasphemous matter, I intend to actively pursue all legal channels to ensure that Mr Malone refrains from such flagrant ideological hate mongering forthwith. – Yours etc,