Opinion

Dual nationality maybe the only way to overcome the problems of Brexit

The republican war, struggle, or Irish question for a 32-county state may now be over or made redundant – if passport applications are anything to go by. More and more British want to become Irish or at least have dual nationality because of the consequences and connotations of Brexit – last year official records showed that more than 100,000 from the mainland UK and 85,000 from Northern Ireland according to reports. Irish officials are expecting a massive onslaught of passport applications post-Brexit. Northern Ireland is now becoming a place of dual nationality despite its visceral cultural and religious differences. The lines are becoming blurred with Brexit and the need to take practical approaches to a situation where repercussions will be far-reaching. The mood music will certainly change after the 29th of March. The UK and NI will be out with or without a deal. Anything could happen in a dynamic situation where panic could set in or at the very least great uncertainty as there is now.  The way things are panning out the British want to hold Irish passports to access the EU and the Irish want to stay closely aligned to the UK, as before, to avoid economic isolation on the edge of Europe. Brexit is a game-changer and people on these two islands are weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of being British or Irish, or both, depending on the access they will get to the EU or to the UK as a whole, thus the huge flurry in passport activity. There are pros and cons of leaving the EU and it may well be a zero-sum-game for the UK leaving the EU. There are more questions than answers in this turning point in history. Will the loss equal the gain for the UK? It is in Northern Ireland’s interest to have the best relationship with the Republic and vice versa to shelter from the fallout – in fact it will be crucial. Both jurisdictions are dependent on each other for billions in trade every week. Irish, British, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish/British. Will economic imperatives override national pride, jingoism, culture? It seems to be going that way if passport applications are anything to go by. There may be an agreement in time where Irish and British citizens have dual nationality automatically. The numbers are increasing of those holding Irish and British passports, though Brexit could end the practice. Dual nationality maybe the only future there is to overcome the problems with Brexit. It may be far more practicable in the long run and in time render bigotry and sectarianism a thing of the past, or at least make it redundant, if the border problems are sorted out.  

MAURICE FITZGERALD


Shanbally, Co Cork

Catastrophic Brexit may be the painful catalyst people need

While politicians, economists, representatives of business and industry, and know-it-all commentators argue and pontificate on the pros and cons of EU membership, Brexit, and hard or soft exit deals, do any of them consider and articulate what is in the best interest of people living in these two Brit-Irish Isles? Are they interested at all in the common good or are they fixated in their ideologies, whether leftist, rightist, socialist, capitalist, unionist or nationalist?

People’s basic physical needs are food, clothing, shelter and warmth. Millions of people in these two supposedly wealthy countries are living in poverty. Even if in employment, they cannot afford adequate food, clothing, housing


and fuel.

Fifty years ago the average, and even below average, earnings of one breadwinner could support a family. A man would be ashamed if his wife had to go out to work to supplement his earnings. Today, two average incomes are barely adequate.

Fifty years ago a new bungalow could be bought for one year’s good professional salary, say £2,400. Today, inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index has risen by a factor of almost 18. The cost of a new bungalow should therefore be about £43,000. The equivalent professional salary today, say £50,000, might pay for the actual building cost of a new bungalow but the selling price of land, whether inherited or deliberately land-banked, and the politically contrived housing shortage have raised the purchase price of a house to several multiples of the building cost. The average cost of a house in the UK today is £300,000.

This is the legacy of governance by politicians of all shades and ideologies.

If it comes to pass, a catastrophic financial and economic exit from the EU may be the painful but necessary catalyst to creating a socio-economic system focused on the well-being of people, and the environment, natural and built, in which people live.

DENNIS GOLDEN


Strabane, Co Tyrone

Public will have their pay back day

Leo Varadkar represents a hostile threatening neighbour and cannot escape serious consequences for his insulting insensitivity toward Northern Ireland over his punitive demands for a border backstop.

The UK needs a leader prepared to denounce him and his Brussels bosses – a leader committed to taking back our country and control of our borders and leaving both the Irish and the EU in no doubt that withdrawal will be effected on March 29 if necessary without arrangement or agreement.

The EU is at its most economic vulnerable ever, rocking and reeling from fragile finances and running scared of recession. The UK does not want to be pulled down with them or by them. Mrs May is not the champion we require to deliver the Brexit the people voted for.

Historically, divided parties fail to win trust and confidence. Faced with a divided government and a divided opposition the public have lost patience, confidence and trust in both May and Corbyn. They are crying out for an end to dithering and uncertainty and a leader with positivity and a unifying purpose.


A leader able to stand up to the likes of Varadkar, Barnier and Juncker.

There is no truth in saying that people get the politicians they deserve but how have we ended up in such a mess with MPs betraying Brexit is beyond comprehension.


The public eventually will have their pay back day .

DAVID McNARRY


Strangford, Co Down

Use your car lights wisely

It has been long-standing advice that motorcyclists should ride with headlights on in daytime to help them be more easily noticed by other drivers. For a number of years now many cars and commercial vehicles have been fitted with auto-on daytime running lights (DRL) at the front in a similar effort to aid all vehicles being more easily seen, though its wisdom is debatable.

What’s not debatable is the obvious wisdom of using your vehicle lights in the hours of darkness and in poor weather when visibility is compromised. Some drivers though, seem forgetful about switching their lights on when they are needed.

Drivers of vehicles with DRL should remember that those lights work on the front of their vehicle but do not activate the rear lights. I would urge owners of vehicles with DRL to be sure that, in poor weather and poor visibility conditions, they consciously turn on their actual headlights to help others see them better.

MARTYN BOYD


Motorcycle Action Group UK