Sir, – In his article defending the decision to seek election to the UN Security Council ("Ireland should pursue UN Security Council seat", Opinion & Analysis, April 14th), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan does not state how much this exercise will cost the country in terms of money and diplomatic effort.
I questioned the wisdom of seeking election to the council during the vital years of Brexit negotiations ("Ireland's UN Security Council seat campaign an exercise in vanity", Opinion & Analysis, April 3rd) and pointed out that Mr Flanagan's department had refused to answer my questions about the cost of a previous campaign in 2001.
Why the reticence? – Yours, etc,
WESLEY BOYD,
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Mount Merrion,
Co Dublin.