Sir, – The sum total of the nation’s intelligence is not encapsulated in a cohort of NGOs, MEPs, 168 TDs, tens of university professors or hundreds of journalists. All five million of us have our own views and sometimes these can be quite perceptive and unexpected. Yet The Irish Times continues to give valuable space on the letters page to these aforementioned groups and former members of these groups whose views are already well known. These groups are also often given space for their own opinion pieces.
Can we have more inclusiveness and variety in the letters chosen for publication and perhaps exclude letters from publicly known contributors and those largely funded from the public purse? – Yours, etc,
RICHARD HORGAN,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 6.
A chara, – In addition to Stephen Walsh’s comments (Letters, October 7th) on the poor accessibility in your digital platform, I would also like to add the surprising lack of allowing online comments to your newspaper articles. Many other international newspapers allow this function and have robust back-and- forth commentary between their readers, with, of course, guidelines in place. I cite the New York Times, the Washington Post and London Times as examples. The limited space of the Letters to the Editor cannot possibly encompass the range of opinion held by your readers. Please consider adding this feature. – Is mise,
ELLEN OLIVER,
West Hartford,
Connecticut,
US.