Following the majority ‘Remain’ result in the north on EU membership Arlene Foster – cheerleader for Leave – forfeited the right to speak on our behalf in any negotiations regarding future EU relationships.

Eighteen years ago the Good Friday Agreement was endorsed by the vast majority of people on this island. The agreement delivered power-sharing institutions and interdependent all-Ireland structures. Arlene was on the wrong end of that referendum also.

The GFA consigned the days of Thatcher’s ‘Out, Out, Out’ and Paisley’s ‘Never, Never, Never, Never’ to history. Unilateral British government or political unionist veto on the way forward no longer applies. It should not be handed back to the DUP.

Arlene Foster and the DUP must not be permitted to act as proxies for the Little Englander Brexiteers by vetoing discussion on what is in the best interests of the people of Ireland. The right of free movement of our people and goods across the island and across Europe must be robustly protected and guaranteed by the Irish government.

The Irish government – as co-guarantor – must make it clear to whoever the next English prime minister is, that any attempted dilution in the terms, safeguards or guarantees in the GFA in forthcoming negotiations on a Brexit will not be tolerated.

The challenge has oft been put to republicans to outline the detail of how a unitary Irish democracy would best deliver long-term economic and political stability.

Well if an taoiseach, Enda Kenny has the political courage to convene an all-Ireland forum on how best to serve the people of Ireland in negotiations on Britain’s exit from the EU, Arlene and the DUP will have the opportunity to convince the rest of us how one part of the island in the EU and the other out will be in our best long-term interests for economic and political stability.

If they are so secure in their position then they have nothing to fear. Failure to participate will only expose the weakness of their arguments. Refusal by a political party or parties to discuss how best to protect the interests of the whole population of this island is no excuse to deny progressive voices the opportunity.

The Irish government has a responsibility to gather together all those with the best interests of the people of Ireland in mind, from political,vbusiness, academic, community and civic society to map out the best way forward for all the population. There can be no vetos on this process.

DOMINIC DOHERTY

Derry City

Too early to tell long-term impact of leaving EU

As a remain supporter, though like many in the Green Party not uncritical of the EU this week has gone from cautious optimism that the UK would vote remain to the cold reality of a victory for the leave side.

As a member of a progressive party I’m used to being on the losing side but I have been deeply affected by this decision.

Perhaps I am over-reacting and things will not be as bad as I currently assume. However, nothing in the post-Brexit chaos, whether the downgrading of the UK’s credit rating, businesses talking of relocating to Europe, the political in-fighting within the Conservative and Labour parties, or the rise in racism has yet convinced me that the sick feeling in my stomach is completely unwarranted.

I have never signed more Irish passport applications in such a short amount of time as I have done these past few days and this reaction of local people, who had no mind to apply for Irish passports and therefore Irish citizenship, is an indication of the shock and calculations people are making in the wake of Brexit.

We now have the phenomenon where ‘British unionists’ are voting with their feet to become Irish (and therefore EU) citizens. While this of course should not be viewed as a prelude to unionists supporting a united Ireland, it is better perhaps viewed as a sort of individual level ‘reverse Greenland’. This ‘reverse Greenland’ allows people in Northern Ireland to remain part of the EU, by becoming Irish citizens, while also being citizens of the (dis)United Kingdom.

It is far too early to tell what will be the long-term impacts of leaving the EU.

Fresh Westminster elections look very likely and I welcome that to give a new government a mandate to implement the referendum decision. We should not rush to trigger Article 50 to formally begin withdrawal negotiations.

If there’s one thing the (dis)United Kingdom is not now ready to do it is to start negotiations about the shape of our future relationship with the European Union.

Cllr JOHN BARRY

Green Party,

Ards and North Down

Brexit was defacto border poll

While one empathises with SF’s call for a border poll the recent Brexit referendum can be considered a de facto border poll with a little lateral thinking and the results credibly reinterpreted as a majority in favour of a 56 per cent degree united Ireland within the EU. This qualifies SF as a unionist party, albeit in the Irish (green) and European (blue) traditions.

Although not as large as a the Scottish majority, the fact that a majority in favour of Northern Ireland remaining in the EU was twice that of a UK majority for leaving cannot be without significance, with Europhilia stronger on the periphery of the British union than Europhobia at its core, except for London and environs. It could be that Dr Haass’s predictions of a Brexit auguring either a united Ireland or repartition is insightful judging by majority northern Irish results, with four mainly nationalist/republican counties west of the Bann and closest to the Republic/EU choosing to remain, and two largely unionist/loyalist counties east of it and closest to GB proper opting to leave. It seems geography predicates politics.

Calling for a border poll is a constructive way of spooking loyalists with the threat of ungerrymandered democracy, appreciating the merits of degrees of unity unthreatening to either tradition on the island is purposeful.



CIARAN MAC AODHA-O CINNEIDE

Dublin 8

No to Irish land border

THE EU referendum results for Northern Ireland have been quite good with 55.8 per cent remaining and only 44.2 per cent leaving – that left 91,365 majority voters in favour of remaining in the EU.

I am very much in doubt if secretary of state Villiers is telling us that there will be no land customs checks. I hope that she is honest and right. Customs can stay at airports and seaports but not along the 300-mile land border.

We had that before and we certainly don’t want a repeat.

DENIS McCRORY

Castlederg, Co Tyrone

Insight into obesity

I watch One Born Every Minute transfixed. I have noticed that most of the mothers are overweight with their unhealthy diets. The cameras also show the biscuits and chocolate that some of the midwives eat during breaks with no mention of nutrition.

This offers a shocking insight into Britain’s obesity problem and the babies may follow in their parents foot steps perpetuating the problem.

JIM McCORMICK

Ballycastle, Co Antrim

Political Euro outing

Martin McGuinness in advance of his attendance at the Euro 2016 game between Northern Ireland and Germany said he didn’t think anybody was looking to turn his visit into a political event.

But surely by issuing such an explanatory statement that is exactly what he did. Also if the cost of his trip was paid for out of the assembly purse that makes it a political outing. The same also goes for our other elected representatives who attended the games in France.

On the other hand if he or they paid their own way and took no salary while following the football then their visits could not be described as being political.

I doubt if we will ever find an answer to my question.

COLM MURTAGH

Newry, Co Down