Sir, - I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Aine Ni Chonaill for her insightful letter (December 20th) regarding the current debate on asylum-seekers. She makes the courageous claim of speaking for the majority of the Irish people. Her well-informed reminder that asylum seekers are an unwanted, unsought and intrusive presence in our community is timely.
Indeed, long before our Celtic Tiger economy took off there was a well documented case of a couple who arrived on our shores with none of the relevant documentation to say who they were or where they had come from. However, it was clear to the authorities that they had received help from somewhere. The woman was pregnant; no doubt the intention was that once the child was born he/she could claim Irish citizenship as a birthright. As Ms Ni Chonaill so rightly points out, the asylum process is a bargain and we as a society must be very careful to whom we grant it.
Luckily, at that time we dealt with this problem a lot more efficiently and effectively. There was no established voice from the minority of bleeding-heart liberals calling for clemency. Nor was there the unsightly view, regardless of the weather and time of the morning, of crowds of people in Dublin's Mount Street.
The couple were dealt with as all parties to a bargain should be: they were given a direct and immediate response. There was no need for any appeals process or needless, time-wasting paperwork. The words, "There is no room at the inn" sufficed.
Once again I would like to thank Ms Ni Chonaill and her organisation. If it were not for people like her, we might never appreciate just how little the human race has changed in 2,000 years. - Yours, etc.,
Geraldine O'Brien, Clonard Lawns, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16.