Letters: Cross community support is basis for progress

Sir Jeffery Donaldson is right when he says “retribution will not achieve reconciliation”.

This retribution is now felt with the impasse of the Protocol and the failure to accept differences leading to recriminations. Indeed, the Protocol is the problem and has had a major impact on the GFA/BA which actually flies over its head in deciding issues which would require cross community support.

The principle of a working shared future in NI is consensus and cross community support, which is not there at the moment. Unionists have rejected outright the Protocol and all unionist parties are now on the same hymn sheet when it comes to the detrimental effect of something which has been imposed.

We saw the Anglo-Irish Agreement done with the British and Irish governments which led to enormous trouble — because it did not receive cross community support.

We must fully accept that consensus and cross community support is the principal on which progress can be made.

Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co Cork