Madam, - I'm an Australian citizen and no supporter of John Howard but I found Colmán Ó Críodáin's comments (Letters Nov 27th) extreme, emotive and unwarranted.
I could understand someone referring to Howard as insensitive or uncompassionate. . . but racist?
Use of such extreme language without justification is unbecoming of someone who prefixes their name with "Dr".
When Ireland stops discriminating against the Traveller community and immigrants; burning oil and peat for electricity; rezoning flood plains for residential property; allowing Shannon to be used for US rendition flights; discriminating against the school age children of non-religious parents and irreligious people in general; when patients are not left lying on hospital trolleys; when the all clear after a mammogram means something; when the head of Government can account for all of his large cash payments; when I can get from Lucan to Sandyford in under two hours at 6:30am; when the average age of the first-time buyer drops from 30 to 24; when Ireland offers one billion dollars in aid to tsunami-stricken areas. . . then and only then will I accept such criticism of one of our former heads of government.
Try cleaning up your own back yard first, Dr Ó Críodáin. - Yours, etc,
JAMES BURKILL,
Carton Court,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.