Sir, – David McWilliams (“Swiss model of local power is the key to successful united Ireland”, Opinion, August 21st) does not mention that in Switzerland, the big issues are decided by referendums. A similar situation would have to apply in a united Ireland because 15 per cent of the people could not have a veto on the actions of the other 85 per cent, and I doubt very much if unionists would accept such an arrangement.
Gibraltar – not Switzerland – is the appropriate model for a future home for unionists in the northeast of our Island; it is a British dominion which is part of the land mass of a different political entity, and it is not economically viable. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McGRATH,
Ashford,
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Co Wicklow.
Sir, – David McWilliams envisages a hyper-devolved Irish federation accommodating the diverse traditions of this island in a unitary state.
Singapore, like Switzerland (the model he chooses), is an ethnically and religiously diverse nation held together by subsidiarity and direct democracy.
However, both these societies demand a civic discipline (no flushing toilets after 10pm in Switzerland; no chewing-gum in Singapore) rarely found elsewhere.
Only when empathy replaces grudge-holding and self-abnegation supplants triumphalism will such an option be worth considering here. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.
Sir, – I thoroughly enjoyed, and agree with, David McWilliams’s column. To illustrate his suggestion about promoting our counties as a source of local autonomy in Ireland, permit me to recount a remark by a receptionist in my hotel in Chur, Graudunden, in 2007. She asked me if I enjoyed my stay in “our county”. At first I thought she meant “country”, but no. She explained that some people in Switzerland also use the term “county” to refer to their cantons.
A point worth pondering in overcentralised, top-down Ireland. – Yours, etc,
TONY HARPUR,
Midleton,
Canton of Cork.
Sir, – I have read with interest the article by David McWilliams. How very interesting and worthy of discussion. A Sinn Féin document called Éire Nua, which was produced in the early 1980s, specifically referred to the Swiss canton system as a solution to a successful future united Ireland.
Sadly my only copy was taken from me by the Special Branch as it was considered a subversive document. – Yours, etc,
SEAN SANDFORD,
Artane,
Dublin 5.