Sir, - Jim Gavin's resignation as a candidate for the presidency shows the need for a political party to have some method of selecting an alternative candidate, if the initial candidate withdraws after the standard nomination process had ended.
What, for instance, would we do if Fine Gael's Mairead McGuinness had been the party's nominee and her health concerns developed after she was selected?
We would be dealing with a scenario of two major candidates leaving the race, and two major parties being unrepresented in the contest. The political establishment has seven years to work out a solution. - Yours, etc.
Sir, - The Fianna Fáil nomination process for the presidency has exposed something more troubling than poor internal management - a failure to grasp the immense responsibility placed on elected representatives when exercising such a mandate.
Selecting a potential president is not a party convenience; it is a constitutional act that demands integrity, discernment, and independence of mind. Many members are left wondering how so obvious a misjudgment could have occurred.
Did political calculation, or a desire to exclude certain figures, outweigh the duty to identify the most suitable candidate for this high office?
The presidency demands the highest standards of discernment and character. For Fianna Fáil's representatives, this should have been an opportunity to reaffirm those values, not to diminish them through internal manoeuvre or haste. - Yours, etc.
Sir, - Jim Gavin did not commit a crime. What seems to have happened is that he made a mistake or forgot about a situation, a civil matter.
There is no evidence of malicious or selfishness. Hands up who has not made a mistake?
Are we such a nation that we cannot tolerate a person who may have made an error 16 years ago. Jim Gavin has outlined his position and his reasons for withdrawing his candidacy. Legally he remains a candidate and perhaps Fianna Fáil should consider inviting him to continue. - Yours, etc,
Sir, - I was bemused by Fintan O'Toole's wry comment that Catherine Connolly is now "odds on favourite" to win "simply because she has coherence and conviction".
Yes indeed, two rare qualities that the electorate might appreciate. - Yours, etc,
Sir, - In light of the current turbulence in the presidential election - is it not time to accommodate the missing option which has regularly resulted in "spoiled votes" in the past?
I have never failed to vote in any general or presidential election over 60 years, nor have I failed to vote in any referendum. But for the first time, in the forthcoming presidential election, I simply do not know who to vote for and this leaves me and those like me in a dilemma.
As a solution, I strongly feel that we should be given an alternative option, such as: "None of the above". If that option were chosen by the majority, it would clearly indicate that we have to start again, with a new line-up of approved candidates, because we do not feel those being presented to us are suitable for the position. The candidates were not of our choice.
Therefore, we should be given the option of saying "no". We could therefore cast our vote (in respect to that freedom which is fortunately afforded to us), and avoid our only other option of spoiling our vote.
Sir, - Is Jim Gavin's "withdrawal" legally and constitutionally out of order given that the presidential election process begins when nominations are closed and finishes when the returning officer declares the result?
Should the electoral commission declare his "withdrawal" invalid, particularly as his name remains on the ballot paper?
Mr Gavin should give a thought to those who fought to have their names on the ballot paper, including several in his own party, some of whom had a great chance of winning.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin must be gutted when he knows he would have walked the contest. Is the prospect of living in Dublin that bad?
Is it worse than returning to be Simon's tánaiste? All the more galling to think that Billy Kelleher or even Bertie Ahern would probably have shaded it? - Yours, etc,
Sir, - Catherine Connolly's soccer and basketball skills, as demonstrated on social media, will earn her more votes than all the highbrow arguments and debating points combined.
Furthermore, it will do more for the equality of women in sport than all the women's rugby trophies or "skort" camogie controversies put together.
It suddenly shows her in a completely new light and for someone of her age, male or female, it is astonishing. For all Michael D's outstanding skills, keepy-uppys was not one of them.
She will certainly get number one from this male chauvinist. - Yours, etc,
Sir, - I am writing regarding Heather Humphreys' apparent view that men lack the strength necessary to hold families, communities and the country together and because of the need, I believe, for her to account to the electorate for this opinion.
This arises from her opening statement in the first debate by presidential candidates held on Virgin Media on September 29th when, after referring to "the quiet strength of women", she went on to add: "In my own family, in my community and right across this country, women have been the ones holding things together."
This was also reported in your newspaper: "Presidential TV debate: Candidates discuss housing, immigration and united Ireland," September 30th.
I think this statement is remarkable in that a presidential candidate, presenting what had to be a very carefully crafted statement that was limited to a minute and amounted to just 178 words, should choose to take a gender-stereotyping position that elevated the value of one gender above the other.
However, what is even more remarkable is that, in the seven days since, I am not aware of anyone challenging her on this opinion, either from the media or from political opposition.
Would this have been the case had a male candidate expressed the equivalent sentiment? - Yours, etc,
Sir, - I wish to highlight the utterly impractical and poorly conceived policy by the National Transport Authority (NTA) regarding Leap Cards for children aged five years to nine years. This scheme is a perfect example of regulation that actively undermines the stated goal of encouraging greater public transport usage.
The NTA mandates that every child in this age bracket must possess their own unique, physical Leap Card. For families with multiple children, this creates an unnecessary and frustrating logistical nightmare.
Managing five or six separate cards - each potentially required for different children travelling with different parents at different times - is simply unworkable.
It establishes a significant, needless barrier to public transport accessibility for ordinary family life.
The problems do not end with the flawed policy design. The support systems for implementation are equally dysfunctional. My recent experience with the application process involved an opaque rejection and a subsequent email response delivered from a UK domain address.
This raises serious and necessary questions about the NTA's data processing oversight and customer service competence when dealing with a core Irish national service.
We need a commonsense solution. The NTA must immediately review its regulations to permit a single adult Leap Card to be loaded with a simple "Family Child" travel product, allowing multiple children (ages five to nine) be validated with one parent's card.
If the NTA is serious about its family friendly fare structure, it must abandon this unwieldy, ill-thought-out system and adopt a practical, user-centric approach. As it stands, this regulation is less about facilitating travel and more about creating bureaucratic friction. - Yours, etc,
Sir, - Should Israel not be held responsible by the international community to rebuild the Gaza Strip as they were responsible for obliterating it? - Yours, etc,
Sir, - On June 27th, Tánaiste Simon Harris stated, "We're the only government in the entire European Union that has published any legislation ever in relation to banning trade with the occupied Palestinian territories" ("Government briefs pro-Palestine EU allies on Occupied Territories Bill").
Since then, Slovenia introduced a ban on imports in August, while Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands have also announced similar measures.
Actions speak louder than words, and while these governments act, ours is still talking. - Yours, etc,
Sir, - Almost every day I see commentary gaining traction online about how Ireland supposedly has a "democratic deficit" or is "no better than North Korea".
It's a kind of hyperbole that, in my opinion, says more about the inflamed rhetoric of part of the electorate than it does about any political reality.
As someone who grew up in mainland Europe and has lived in both the United Kingdom and the United States for years, I find it almost endearing what surfaces as political drama here and has real consequences to a campaign.
That is not to say there are no serious problems. There are, and they deserve scrutiny. But the fact that these kinds of issues still provoke such national outrage suggests that we in fact live in a healthy democracy where decency matters and truth to power can be spoken and is normalised.
Enjoy your ability to spoil your vote, make political statements without fear or consequence and embrace the cognitive dissonance of Schrödinger's Ireland where it's simultaneously the best and worst country in the world. - Yours, etc,
Sir, While progressing through Dublin Airport on Sunday, I decided to treat myself to some overpriced shower gel. As I viewed my options, a young woman who was standing in that section quite bullishly asserted that I was "invading her personal space" while she stood with her back to the products, ostensibly messaging on her phone.
I understand that the airport process can be stressful for some but is the human race so busy racing that we have sidelined any sense of propriety, manners and decorum? - Yours, etc,
Sir, - I became a parent for the first time in my mid-40s and now have first hand experience of how challenging it can be (Letters, October 6th).
As a direct result, I no longer get annoyed when there's a baby screaming its lungs out on my flight.
Quite the opposite in fact. It warms my heart to hear the sound, safe in the knowledge that it isn't mine. - Yours, etc,
Sir, - Theresa O'Farrell's letter of October 7th has prompted me to wonder why The Irish Times, in its online edition of October 4th, thought it appropriate to place a large photo and a review of Taylor Swift's new album on page 4, the Home News section. Has she perhaps found some Irish roots? - Yours, etc,
Sir, - Your article "Some sea views to be lost due to planned flood defences" (October 4th) characterises the debate over the proposed concrete walls along the Dart line as a binary question: do you want to protect the Dart or not?
But such simplistic framing misses the point entirely. Of course, protecting the Dart line is a priority. However, the proposed walls will not only block views to the sea, but will fundamentally alter how it feels to be by the sea. Open walkways will become trenches casting shade all along the coast, and much of the informal seating currently enjoyed by many at Booterstown, Blackrock and Seapoint will be no more.
Seeing the sea is an essential part of my daily tonic. For others, it is time spent in a forest or getting out on the land. Whatever way people get it, maintaining a connection to the natural world is an essential element of our health and wellbeing and is not to be given up lightly.
These high concrete walls cannot be the only way to protect the Dart. Our coastline deserves more thought than this. - Yours, etc,