Sir, - The objection to direct provision for asylum-seekers, as distinct from monetary benefits, is something I don't even begin to understand. I try to envisage myself fleeing my native country in fear of my life, and seeking safety in a strange country far from home. I appeal for asylum there, and I'm taken in and fed, clothed, accommodated and given access to medical, educational and legal services, and given a cash allowance as well. I cannot conceive that I would have grounds for complaint about my treatment; quite the contrary surely. What on earth is going on? - Yours, etc.,
John O'Callaghan, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.