Sir, – Is Brexit the new Y2K? No one is sure of the full impact. There is a strong suspicion that it will cause great hardship. And six months after it happens we will wake up and wonder what all the fuss was about. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT O’ROURKE,
Lucan, Co Dublin.
Sir, – S O'Cuinn (November 7th) expresses the view that holding a referendum was an act of selfishness on the part of the UK.
Considering that the UK has had only one referendum on the EU in the past 50 years, his accusation seems a little misplaced. If EU plebiscites were a box of chocolates, Ireland would be the hoarding kid in the corner smeared in sticky goo while the starving British child looks on forlornly. – Yours, etc,
DAVID MORSE,
Christchurch,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – Writing from London, Cían Carlin colourfully accuses the Irish Government of using the diaspora "as lackeys to defibrillate a flatlining European project".
If he means “to resuscitate the European project” his use of a shocking medical metaphor is doomed to failure. The clue is in the name – defibrillators shock a fibrillating heart into asystole (flatlining) so that it can start beating normally again. Only the cardiac arrest rhythms ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia are normally defibrillated.
If the project is truly flatlining, the Government needs to start CPR pending intravenous drug treatment or, better still, stick to motoring metaphors such as jump-start – unless a handbrake turn is round the corner while it’s still in the driving seat. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.