At last, the new rules have liberated natural and skilful athletes like David Clifford and Michael Murphy to keep going forward toward goal and not sideways and backwards in a dreary process of endless handball. The two points from long distance and long kick-outs from the goalie have also helped, but backward handpassing should be banned completely. Gaelic football still has a long way to go to equal the wizardry and skill of hurling or rugby at its best, but at least it is finally going in the right direction. Maurice O’Callaghan Stillorgan, Co Dublin As starvation stalks Gaza and scenes reminiscent of our Great Famine fill our screens, the Central Bank’s continued involvement in supporting Israeli war bonds borders on the incredulous. Gary Gannon’s legal action against the Central Bank is a timely reminder that three fundamental questions need credible answers: Who decided to accept this role for our bank? How is this consistent with our neutrality? What European Central Bank regulations explicitly prevent the bank from stopping this activity? Our Central Bank is not a private bank mandated to facilitate dubious clients. Ethics, human rights, and respect for democratic values should overrule monetary and fiscal policies. Faced with the ongoing genocide in Gaza, institutional independence is not an excuse for inaction. War justifies exceptional measures. The Taoiseach should instruct the Central Bank to stop this activity that besmirches Ireland’s name. Penalties would be a small price to pay for a principled stance which would be respected in the court of global public opinion. This would send an unequivocal message that Israel’s actions are an affront to our humanity and that our neutrality is more than platitudes. Declan Deasy Former director European Commission, DG DIGIT, Castlebellingham Co Louth Rote learning is not the way Nathan Barrett (‘ Beyond the exam hall: Reclaiming the purpose of Irish education’, July 8) is correct. The points system is a narrow pressure point memory recall system inflicted on young people every June during the Leaving Certificate. It does not capture academic ability and excludes many students from third level study, especially those who cannot afford grind schools, which Nathan correctly points out, exist outside of the scrutiny of the Department of Education. These schools do exist with no emphasis on pastoral care or any other student development. Regretfully, the Leaving Certificate, as it is, pushes all teachers to focus on rote learning for the terminal Leaving Certificate exams at the expense of real learning. Regretfully, the ASTI will now resist changes to the upcoming Leaving Certificate at the expense of students. As products of the Leaving Certificate, many Irish educators are afraid of changing the system but there is no doubt that the Leaving Certificate is outdated and badly in need of serious reform which will capture students’ ability beyond their ability to memorise, which can be assisted by ability to pay for grinds. Adrian Gibbs Deputy principal, Nano Nagle College