Sir, - While I agree with the general views stated by John Waters in relation to the failure of unionists to accept their share of responsibility for the societal ills of Northern Ireland (Opinion, September 14th), I believe that this tendency is more prevalent among middle-class unionists. They have never accepted their direct responsibility for the appalling degree of discrimination and sectarianism that existed and it was only with considerable resistance that measures to rectify the situation were agreed.
Middle-class unionists have suffered least and gained most from the years of unrest. The golf pavilions and sailing clubs were unscathed whilst pubs in working-class areas were the usual targets for shootings and bombings. Businesses that received bomb damage were generously compensated from the British purse. Public services such as health and education were better funded than in Britain, and once you moved in the right circles, life was very good.
It seems that the combination of their denial of responsibility for the situation and the comfortable life they have enjoyed has dulled the sense of urgency among middle-class unionists to comply with the conditions of the Good Friday Agreement.
For too long, public opinion in the Republic and Britain has been reluctant to criticise unionists for fear of being seen as sympathetic to the entirely reprehensible actions of paramilitaries. - Yours, etc.,
Pamela Conroy, Richmond Court, Dartry, Dublin 6.