Sir, – The Hindenburg-esque collapse of Jim Gavin’s presidential campaign should give us all pause for thought on the way in which our presidential elections are conducted.
Political parties are fallible. They make mistakes, probably more often than most private entities.
In spite of this, our constitutional order has come to vest them with extraordinary presidential nomination powers; both in terms of the ability to nominate a candidate of their own, and in terms of the ability to block the nomination of non-party rivals, as in the case of Maria Steen.
On this occasion, the consequence of this system has been the nomination and subsequent withdrawal (many hundreds of thousands of taxpayer euros later) of a somewhat unprepared individual by the largest party in the Dáil, resulting in what may become a lacklustre, two-person contest that can only do damage to our democracy.
RM Block
The presidential nominations system must be reformed to ensure a wide field of successfully nominated candidates to prevent such damage from repeating in the future. – Yours, etc,
KILLIAN FOLEY-WALSH,
Freshford Road,
Kilkenny.
Sir, – On a personal level, I feel sorry for the tenant, Billy Kelleher, Jim Gavin, Jack Chambers, and Micheál Martin – in that order.
In a broader context, I feel sorry for the Irish electorate and less sorry for the Fianna Fáil party.
When it comes to the blame, I mainly blame the Taoiseach.
In terms of thank yous, Irish Independent journalist Fionnán Sheahan deserves great credit for his due diligence and forensic reporting – as does RTÉ’s’s Áine Lawlor for her probing questions during the televised debate.
And as for fallout: Jim Gavin has done the honourable thing; the Taoiseach needs to follow suit. – Yours, etc,
CHRIS FITZPATRICK,
Terenure Road East,
Dublin 6.
Sir, –I am glad Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews thinks Jim Gavin made just “a mistake”.
It was, in my opinion, a very long mistake – 16 years.
My feeling is that if I were the tenant in question asking, perhaps begging, for the return of my ¤3,300 refund, that I might not be calling this interaction “a mistake”. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET BYRNE,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – I haven’t decided who I am voting for in this election. For me, none of the three, now two candidates have made me sit and say “I’m voting for her,” after an appearance on television or an interview on radio.
This election has now become a duel.
In hindsight, wouldn’t the inclusion of Maria Steen or Conor McGregor on the ballot paper have given us a little autumn fun, especially during debates?
My prediction is that it will be the lowest poll in any presidential election ever held in this country. – Yours, etc,
PAT BURKE-WALSH,
Gorey,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – Jim Gavin’s name will remain on the ballot paper. I would suggest his decision to withdraw has significantly elevated his chances of winning. – Yours, etc,
DAMIEN HANLON,
Clontarf,
Dublin.
Sir, – In a word it’s a farce, the lowest number of candidates in over 50 years.
Surely there are more people both inside and outside the political system more than capable of filling the role of president?
The fallout will be interesting to see, because the Fianna Fáil party of old would never have so badly miscalculated the mood of the people. – Yours, etc,
ANTAINE O’DUIBHIR,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.
Testing for cancer
Sir, – In reference to Eileen Bannan’s letter (October 4th) on the sad loss of the wonderful Manchán, calling out out prostate cancer as a “silent killer” and “if caught early, the prognosis is very good,” I was referred by my GP on August 15th, with prostate cancer symptoms to St Vincent’s Hospital’s genito-urinary clinic.
I received confirmation of this referral on September 5th, in a letter stating that I have been placed on their outpatient waiting list.
However, it further states that “based on current demands, the wait time for a routine appointment for genito-urinary is currently greater than 12 months”.
Ireland – not a country to get sick in. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD NEALON,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Coastal defences challenges
Sir, – I welcome The Irish Times covering the challenge of future-proofing south Dublin Bay’s railway infrastructure and the impact the potential construction of sea defences will have on local residents (“Some sea views along Dart line to be lost due to planned flood defences,”October 4th).
But readers should remember much of Dublin is built on very low lying sand, silt and mud that has been brought to the bay by rivers and the sea to naturally build coastal wetlands.
These types of coastal lands have the ability to grow upwards and landwards with a rise in sea level, provided there is sufficient sand, silt, and mud available and provided they are allowed to occasionally flood.
Indeed, until we came along to reclaim them and build on them, coastal wetlands around the globe have survived many hundreds of thousands of years of sea level rise and fall.
In fixing these adaptable dynamic environments in place and building on them (including something as important as Dublin’s main commuter railway line), we have only ourselves to blame for the difficulty we now face in protecting our built property from sea level rise.
Nature has a perfect solution for rising sea levels: storm waves naturally redistribute sand such that the beach widens, becomes shallower and dissipates subsequent storm waves much more effectively.
But this requires the presence of sand. If, as sea levels rise, sand cannot come from the land (because we have built on it), then it must come from eroding areas along the shore or from offshore regions – but we happen to be fixing those in place too, through cliff protection measures and by building offshore wind farms on them.
There has been precious little publicly funded research on this topic, so we know little about where the sand in south Dublin Bay currently comes from or goes to (or at least that knowledge is not in the public domain.).
What readers should know is that the energy of waves, upon reaching hard concrete defences, has only one option: reflect seawards and carry beach sand with it.
Sure, upgraded or new defences along the east coast railway line will do their job in preventing flooding for a while, but their upkeep will become exponentially more and more expensive for future generations, as we lose the very reason the city and the railway line were able to be built in the first place: the wide, shallow beach – nature’s own best defence against wave impact.
What is more, without sand being able to deposit to accompany the rise in sea level, the protected habitats that quite rightly prevent the construction of flood defences seaward of the existing walls, will eventually disappear either way.
We have a habit of pushing environmental challenges that are of our own making to future generations. We must and we can do better. – Yours, etc,
PROF IRIS MÖLLER,
Chair of Geography,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – I read with alarm your ECRIPP ( East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects) scheme article leading with the loss of sea views along sections of the Dart line rather than the far more pressing reality that these works are essential to protect one of the main commuter corridors on the east coast.
On the Dart network alone, 90,000 journeys are made each day, much of that travel depending on the vulnerable southern coastal line between Connolly and Bray.
This framing reflects a deeper national problem; our instinct to value the status quo over necessary adaptation. We’ve seen where that leads. In Clontarf, flood defences were scaled back after opposition on visual grounds and now thousands of homes are at risk of flooding and becoming uninsurable.
Rising seas are not a matter of opinion; they are a fact. If we can’t accept modest interventions now, we’ll face far higher ones later, or risk the Dart line itself going under water.
What’s needed is joined up thinking: protecting critical rail infrastructure while also delivering waterside walking and cycling routes through projects like the ESB connector, so that resilience, mobility and access to the sea are strengthened together rather than traded off against each other.
The wall will need to be raised, certainly, but it should be done in keeping with the historic character of the bay. Real leadership means choosing modest disruption today over the irreversible damage of tomorrow.
Because you can keep the view on the Dart, but without adaptation, you might just get wet toes to see it. – Yours, etc,
CLLR CONOR DOWLING,
(PhD in Urban resilience case on flooding in Dublin)
Green Party,
Blackrock,
Dublin.
Beautiful Brussels
Sir, – Reading the account given by Rachel Rice of her experience in “Beautiful Brussels” (Letters, October 4th), I am left wondering if I am living in a parallel universe.
I am a big fan of the quirky Belgian capital, where I have lived for the past 22 years but, while you might occasionally luck upon a “spotless taxi”, I have yet to find a “spotless” public toilet, replete with soap and hand towels by each sink.
We do famously have outdoor urinals literally on the wall of St Catherine’s Church in the town centre however.
Brussels has undeniable charm and beauty – architectural, cultural and social. But, to find it, visitors need to look beyond the chaos and grime, with residents legally obliged to leave rubbish in bags on the street for refuse collection services.
It is well worth a visit, but visitors from Ireland will be disappointed if they come looking for cleanliness and spotless toilets. – Yours, etc
RICHARD MORE O’FERRALL,
Brussels,
Belgium.
Customer service
Sir, – I completed my online passport renewal application on Thursday (October 2nd) and received same day confirmation from the Passport Office at 13.12pm that day.
The new passport arrived in my post box on Friday, October 3rd 9.30am. The Passport Office could rightfully claim “to provide the very best of service to our customers”. – Yours, etc,
BARRY O’ BYRNE,
Dublin 3.
Not a Swiftie
Sir, – When our public service broadcaster covers the release of a new album on almost all their radio programmes – on October 3rd – I feel my age.
I believe the age profile of most listeners is 35-54. I doubt many of us regular listeners got up at 5am to download the album on whatever music streaming service we might use. To have RTÉ Radio 1 blast out Taylor Swift reviews all day made me question why I’m still paying my licence. – Yours, etc,
THERESA O’FARRELL,
Dublin.
Name check
Sir, – Cliff Taylor may be one of our better economic commentators (“Six key points to watch in this hazardous budget,” October 4th) but where is he going with Tom, Nuala, Arthur, Marie and Pat?
I haven’t met anyone under 40 with any of those names. – Yours, etc,
PAT RABBITTE,
Clondalkin,
Dublin.
Restoring an air travel tax
Sir , – Minister Darragh O’Brien’s Department of Transport has identified a “funding gap” for Public Service Obligations (PSO) of €250 million.
The PSO imposes an obligation on the Government to shore up routes that might not be commercially successful, but are nonetheless considered essential, especially in rural areas. These include BusConnects and the “connecting Ireland rural mobility plan,” the Young Adult Card and the 90-minute fare free child fares inclusion of those aged five to eight-years old.
Acknowledging that it is not “fiscally responsible” to maintain such a deficit, the Department proposed a new “sustainable funding model” to “plug the gap”.
The alternatives offered are an increase in public transport fares, cutting public transport services or taking €250 million a year away from National Development Plan infrastructure projects.
An alternative would be for Mr O’Brien to reinstate the €10 tax on airline tickets imposed by minister for transport Noel Dempsey in 2009 but cancelled by his successor Leo Varadkar in 2014.
Ireland is in a minority worldwide in not imposing any airline tax. Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands maintain airport taxes ranging from €29 to €42 per passenger, while even the United States imposes a passenger facility charge (PFC) which averages €37. All increase according to distance.
The UK’s short-haul tax is a modest €15 air passenger duty (APD) for short-haul economy class fares, with an increase in taxes in April 2025 and again in April 2026 which will include a 50 per cent increase on private jets – from €673 to €1,141.
A flight from Dublin to Rome attracts no tax. Returning you will contribute to another country’s climate efforts. Restoring the air travel tax could meet the funding gap required to maintain our Government’s commitment to public transport – and would also be a step towards climate justice. – Yours, etc,
TONY LOWES,
Friends of the Irish Environment,
Co Cork.
VAT and hospitality
Sir, – I am horrified that it seems like the Government may go ahead with their proposed VAT reduction for food and/or hospitality.
While accepting that there may be some food outlets finding it difficult to make ends meet, it is shocking that large chains and high end food outlets should benefit.
Let’s be clear, VAT is a tax paid by the customer and collected by companies and forwarded to Revenue.
From hearing business people and some Government representatives speak, it seems the customer will still have to pay this money as businesses will not be expected to reduce prices accordingly.
So the customer will pay, but the Revenue will not get all the money. This means that other services cannot be aided by tax paid by customers.
Interestingly, in some places it is hard to get a booking in a restaurant because they are so busy.
Could a Government representative please explain realistically the logic in this thinking? – Yours, etc,
MÁIRÍN DOWLING,
Co Kildare.
