Sir, - Aine O Chonaill (September 23rd), says: "No country, I am convinced, which has gone down the multi-racial, multi-cultural road would not turn back the clock if it could." Really? She also believes that those who qualified for asylum in Ireland should have that status revoked if the conditions which compelled them to seek refuge change.
I imagine that thousands of Irish people who fled poor economic circumstances in their home country in this century and the last to seek new opportunities all around the globe would have little interest in seeing their host nations "turning back the clock" on immigration policy if they could. And while many Irish emigrants might choose to return home during the current economic boom, few would be happy about being forced to do so.
It is unfortunate that Ms O Chonaill appears to see the presence of refugees and asylum-seekers in Ireland as threatening the homogeneity of Irish society and the livelihoods of Irish people. Why not adopt instead a little of the American spirit and see the arrival of political (or economic) refugees as an opportunity to enrich the cultural and economic fabric of Irish society as it approaches the new millennium? - Yours, etc.,
Milton Avenue, Highgate, London N6 5QE.