Sir, – It is quite astounding that among all the column inches about people travelling (or not) to Ireland for Christmas, there has been such a lack of focus on people going the other way.
According to the 2016 Census, one in six people in Ireland are born outside the island. There are 200,000 people from Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania alone, many of whom would surely travel back “home” for Christmas in normal circumstances. Yet the Irish media and officials appear caught in a monocultural timewarp where these people do not exist.
We also know from other countries that people from minority backgrounds are disproportionately hit by Covid-19 and that good communication strategies with these communities are essential. This may be happening, yet the issue has been remarkable by its absence from the media. – Yours, etc,
JONIVAR SKULLERUD,
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
Sandymount, Dublin 4.