Sir, – What if next Monday every immigrant and non-white Irish citizen failed to turn up at work? What would happen? Hospitals would have to cancel surgical lists, emergency departments would be overflowing and outpatient clinics cancelled. All because there would be a shortage of nurses and doctors. People would get phone calls from nursing homes informing them that as there were no staff they need to come in to mind their relative and bring food with them as the kitchens are closed. Restaurants and takeaways would be closed because of the lack of chefs and waiters. Services across the country would be similarly impacted. White Irish staff would be required to work overtime and through the night to fill the void. What about Tuesday, could we continue to cover for the missing staff? How long before there is uproar across society over the lack of services? Could we make it to Friday? It certainly would not take long for people to appreciate the important role that immigrants and non-whites play in Irish society. – Yours, etc,DERMOT COX,Dublin 14.Sir, – I have just finished an eight-day stay at Beaumont Hospital. I was treated as a public patient even though I have private health insurance. As I lay in bed I read all the furore about public/private healthcare. The level of care, professionalism and courtesy extended by all staff was exceptional in every respect. Perhaps we don’t say well done to the health service often enough. More than 90 per cent of the medical staff who attended me were migrants. My wife travelled daily to and from the hospital by taxi. Of the 16 taxi journeys that she took, 14 of the drivers were migrants. Where would we be without the migrants for essential services? – Yours, etc,DENIS CRONIN,Galway.Sir, – I migrated to Ireland some four years back and I have not once been the target of anti-immigrant sentiment. More than once, I’ve had people confide in me their “anti-immigrant” sentiments. Dear reader, you are correct, I am white. This isn’t anti-immigrant sentiment, this is racism. – Yours, etc, BEN AVELING,Dublin 6.World Cup and pollutionSir, – The 2026 World Cup has now kicked off. While Fifa president Gianni Infantino claims the tournament will be “simply the greatest event that humanity – that mankind – has ever seen and will ever see”, one thing is certain: its environmental footprint leaves little room for debate.Since the first World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930, the planet has warmed by nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius. Fifa’s response? Perhaps the most carbon-intensive sporting event in history.This is an event sponsored by the world’s largest oil producer, Aramco, and the top branded plastic polluter in the world, Coca-Cola. Furthermore, millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide will be produced by the event itself, and teams and supporters travelling to and from matches by aircraft. The result is clear: it is estimated that one in four matches during this World Cup will be played under very hot conditions, threatening the health of both players and supporters alike. The climate crisis is reshaping football, fuelled by Fifa.We cannot claim to care about our planet while allowing such events to continue unchecked. Yes, we should celebrate and enjoy sports, but we must also ask: at what cost?After all, there’s no football on a dead planet. – Yours, etc, OLA LØKKEN NORDRUM,South Lotts Road, Dublin.Nature restoration Sir, – The Nature Restoration Law represents an important shift in EU environmental policy, moving away from simply protecting what remains of ecosystems, towards actively restoring what has been degraded.Potential measures could range from rewetting peatlands and improving the free flow of rivers, to increasing urban tree canopy cover.Despite Ireland’s green scenery and coastal landscapes, many ecosystems have been in long-term decline, driven by land-use pressures. Against this backdrop, Ireland’s draft Nature Restoration Plan provides a framework for ecological recovery across land, inland waters, seas and urban environments. Research undertaken by UCD academics and their research partners indicates that restoration can support biodiversity, climate resilience, flood management, water quality and human wellbeing.UCD Earth Institute recently hosted a public seminar on nature restoration, where strong participation reflected public interest in how Ireland’s natural environment is governed and restored. The current public consultation (closing June 30th, 2026) offers citizens, communities and landowners an opportunity to help shape this process. Implementation will involve challenges and trade-offs, so meaningful public engagement is essential to achieving restoration outcomes that work for both nature and society. – Yours, etc,PROF EOIN O’NEILL, Director, UCD Earth Institute,University College Dublin.Manners and societySir, – Just like Finn McRedmond (“I’m with Andrew Scott and Phoebe Bridgers. If you’re at a gig, put your phone away”, Opinion, June 11th), I too have noticed a large and swift degradation of social norms in recent years, turbocharged by the pandemic. However, I disagree with her summation that “over-zealous” lockdowns led to the collapse in public decorum. I contend that it was the response by a loud minority to those lockdowns, that they know better than the masses and they should be left to make their own poor decisions at the cost of everyone and anyone else, that led to the rampant abandonment of social norms. Once the collective good contract was broken at the macro level, why maintain collective good norms at the micro level?I stand on the side of manners, of respect for those around you, of the cutting look and speaking up. We would do well as a nation to empower the cop-on culture that once kept the level of notions at an acceptable level.I commend Phoebe Bridgers for her efforts and hope it inspires principals across the country to follow suit in schools. – Yours, etc,EANNA GLYNN,Dublin.Sir, – Finn McRedmond (“I’m with Andrew Scott and Phoebe Bridgers. If you’re at a gig, put your phone away”, June 11th) reminds us of the epidemic of bad manners experienced by concert and theatregoers. Bad manners has now become widespread in all walks of life. This clearly points to no respect for the other person.To experience good manners now has become rare and must be acknowledged and nurtured.A few days ago, having experienced so much bad manners, on the bus, in shops, in Grafton Street and a lot more, a man experiencing homelessness approached me to shake hands and asked me to thank my colleagues who had helped him the previous day. This to me spoke volumes and was much more important than the much used “have a good day” without even eye contact that seems to have replaced “thank you”. Thank you and a smile cost nothing, it can even be contagious and can go a long way to ensure that the giver and the recipient can feel, yes, they are important. Thank you. – Yours, etc,ALICE LEAHY,Director of Services,Alice Leahy Trust,Dublin 8.Absurd radio adsSir, – More and more advertisers appear to be relying on “what would I know, I’m just a voiceover” type messages in their radio ads. Please stop this VO nonsense. It’s absurd. – Yours, etc,MICHAEL CULLEN,Sandycove,Dublin.Premium quoteSir, – I seem to have a foggy, hazy recollection that car insurance providers had beseeched the Government that if they restricted claims in their compensation amounts, premiums would not continue to climb. And yet, here I am, again, with a higher quote than last year, the only material change, mercifully, being both myself and the car are a year older, plus ça change. – Yours, etc,NIAMH BYRNE, Dublin 3.Israel match and Minister for SportSir, – In support of the FAI’s decision to play Ireland’s upcoming Nation’s League home game at a neutral venue, Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan has claimed that Ireland would otherwise have been the “big losers”. Both he and the FAI have made clear that not fulfilling the fixture would cost Ireland six points in the competition and have a direct impact on the country’s Fifa world ranking. How costly will that prove to be compared with the loss of lives, land, homes and futures in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and southern Syria? Let the games and the slaughter continue. – Yours, etc,ALAN COUNIHAN,Co Kilkenny.Teaching the Irish languageSir, – I agree wholeheartedly with both your writers regarding the Irish language. I have been advocating for many years for the Irish language curriculum to be changed in favour of a more spoken form.For a teacher of, I’m sure, distinguished 35 years, for Clare Grealy to step outside of the box that all teachers are forced to stay in, is commendable. She is a worthy proponent.And as for the daily digest of the Leaving Cert exams, I would be interested to know if any of the 18 year olds who are set on doing all they can before an exam, have time to read the daily account when their next exam is looming. One exam over – forgotten. Move on to the next one. – Yours, etc,VICTORIA MADIGAN,Dublin 6.Pedestrian talkSir, – I too find myself avoiding fellow pedestrians while out walking. (Letters, June 12th). However, this is not because of the speed at which I’m walking but because any oncoming pedestrians appear to be engrossed in their mobile phones paying no attention to where they are going. – Yours, etc,BRENDAN McMAHON,Co Kildare.Swift careSir, – Surely swifts are one of our most magical birds, with their vesper flights and their distaste of land.Recently the Scottish Assembly passed a law to compel builders to have at least one swift brick in each new build. These swift bricks ensure there is a place for swifts to lay their eggs and hatch their young. The cost added to the final price of the build is about ¤40.Would it be too much for the Irish Government to follow the example of our Celtic neighbours? – Yours, etc,ROBERT WHITE,Co Carlow.A solution to bad weatherSir, – Two things are irking me most in recent weeks – the weather and Donald Trump.Fortunately, I have a solution to both. Simply appoint Trump as Ireland’s sole weather forecast presenter while simultaneously removing him as president of the US.I can already hear his weather forecast presentation: “This summer’s weather is gonna be the greatest the country has ever experienced, nothing like it ever in the world anywhere before, trust me!!!! ... people are gonna be amazed, truly amazed ... the most fabulous, bluest skies ever created, the big, powerful, beautiful sun gleaming like never before, the most perfect temperature (which they said couldn’t happen!) trust me, it’s on the way ... in the next few days ... before the stock markets reopen, at the latest trust me!”And best of all, the Mexicans are paying for it. – Yours, etc,DARAGH MacDERMOTT, Galway.SunblockedSir, – I am reliably informed that sunscreen over time becomes less effective, only usable for a maximum of three years. Cosmetic products, including sunscreen, with this shelf life do not have to carry a “best used before” date. Alternatively they display Period After Opening (PAO) symbol showing how long the product is safe and effective after opening. Wouldn’t it be helpful if they included an area on the container whereby you could record the opening or expected expiry date of the item as some medical inhalers do? Now, when did I buy that bottle of sunscreen? – Yours, etc,JOAN HOBSON,Co Dublin.