Sir, - At last a Government Minister, Liz O'Donnell, has echoed the shame many people feel about the treatment being meted out to refugees and economic migrants. It is clear from every defensive, xenophobic utterance of the Justice Minister that he does not have the imagination to propose a structured, long-term policy on immigration. The problem will not go away and "crackdowns" are not the answer.
Our emigrants (myself among them) were helped over many decades in other countries where they were allowed to earn a living and improve their prospects. Now it is our turn to recognise that affluence brings responsibility. While limits must be built into immigration policy, it should embody compassion, generosity and a willingness to share. We have much to gain from the work skills and rich cultural diversity these people bring with them.
If politicians believe their silence reflects the apathy of the electorate, I think they are wrong. Many ordinary people feel the kind of powerlessness that Fintan O'Toole wrote of recently when they are confronted with the sight of families and small, bewildered children being shunted up and down Mount Street. There is a dearth of leadership on the issue from the Opposition parties who could surely have moved to fill the vacuum left by the larger partner in Government. Have John Bruton and Ruairi Quinn retired from public life altogether? - Yours, etc.,
Mary Lyons, Cherrywood Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.