'An Phoblacht' welcomes readers' letters. Letters in Irish or English should be kept short (no more than 200 words) and typed or handwritten clearly, double-spaced and on one side of the paper only. Name and address should be supplied for verification, but these will not be published if we are so requested.

Cuireann 'An Phoblacht' fáilte roimh litreacha ónár léitheoirí. Scríobh i nGaeilge nó i mBéarla. Is fearr litreacha gearra (200 focal ar a méid) clóscríofa nó lámhscríofa go soiléir ar thaobh amháin den leathanach. Cuir ainm agus seoladh leis ach ní fhoilseoimid iad seo más é do thoil.

Get rid of direct rule

A chara,

DUP opposition to the proposed new water rates whilst at the same time refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations on the restoration of the institutions is blatantly hypocritical. I am positive that their electorate will punish them for this duplicity at the first available opportunity.

The truth is that the people of both communities need to take control of their own destinies both politically and economically. At the moment we are subject to a dictatorship of once-a-week, fly-in British direct rule ministers. These people don't give a damn about the ordinary people of the Six Counties. In fact their knowledge of the place could probably be written on a postage stamp.

The only way to remedy this situation is to get the institutions back up and running and the DUP know that as do their electorate. I can only hope that this fact will focus the minds of the DUP at the upcoming talks in Scotland. It is an inescapable fact that they remain the sole obstacle to the removal of direct rule.

Is mise,

Mary Carroll,

Armagh City.

Corrib pipeline 'obscenity'

A chara,

The use of Gardaí to intimidate peaceful protesters opposed to the Corrib gas pipe last Tuesday is an outrage. Our thug police force has now been outsourced to the multinational, Shell. These scumbags manhandled protesters, removed vehicles and prevented a Doctor from treating an injured protester, but as the old saying goes expect nothing from a pig but a grunt.

What is more pertinent here is the government's total subservience to Shell as they rob the people of our natural resources. You must remember that this is occurring at a time when gas prices have risen a staggering 34%. You could be forgiven for missing the startling contradiction here as the establishment and corporate-owned media refuse to highlight it.

Shell have a history of political bribery worldwide and only a fool could conclude that this is not the case in the Corrib obscenity. It's high time we got rid of these traitors and criminals. The only political party that I have heard convincingly denouncing the treacherous give-away of our natural resources is Sinn féin Féin. I know which way I will be voting in the next election and I would urge everybody to vote Sinn féin Féin. You never know one day we might be able to make these gangsters pay for their crimes.

Is mise,

Paul Fogarty,

Dundalk,

Co. Louth.

Ahern controversy

A chara,

I cannot understand the contrived indignation being expressed around monies Bertie Ahern received in the early nineties. Wake up people - low ethical standards are a fact of life in this country and have been for a very long time. You would have to be a complete idiot not to have realised that by now. The sad fact is that this is acceptable to a large number of the electorate hence the re-election of Beverley Flynn, Michael Lowry and of course the election of the Fianna Fáil/PD coalition.

There is a whole generation who have grown up during the so-called Celtic Tiger era. Mortgaged to the hilt and with the HP car parked in the driveway they think they are to the manor born. However the last laugh will be on them. The property market is about to crash as top heavy with investors they will dump their assets on the market leaving the beggers on horseback in negative equity and facing repossession of their homes and in massive debt.

Maybe then they will care about people dying on hospital trolleys while the government gives tax breaks and land to private health operators. Maybe with the HP car repossessed they will give a damn about the disgraceful state of our public transport system. They might even care about the give-away of our natural resources and the massive waste of public monies going to parasite consultants. Most of all they might care enough to change this government. Until they do I will be laughing at them when they fall.

Is Mise,

Peter Graves,

Drumcondra,

Dublin 9

Garda behaviour

A chara

The two-year suspended sentence imposed on five men who, masked and heavily armed, attacked a woman and her eight children forcing them to leave their home is repugnant. The sentences handed down at Galway Circuit Criminal this week were preceded by glowing character references from the Garda - not really surprising when you consider the cops regularly mount home invasions armed to the teeth and without a care in the world for whoever is present. This is a fact that can be attested to by many republicans. On one occasion they terrified my then partner who was heavily pregnant and stole her brand new video recorder.

The point I am making is that there are certain categories of people who cannot expect their rights to be respected or the protection of the courts. The terrorised woman and children involved in the Galway case happen to be members of the travelling community and the gunmen were members of the settled community hence the lenient treatment. You can just imagine the hysterical reaction if the situation was reversed.

The state should be aware that when it refuses justice for people it produces a climate whereby individual citizens will seek it out for themselves. This is of course an unacceptable state of affairs.

To be fair to the people of Galway these thugs are not representative of them. I know the county very well and spent much of my youthful summers there. I have always found Galway people to be decent and tolerant and am very much looking forward to my next visit there.

Aran Foley,

Courtlands,

Griffith Avenue

Dublin 9