Emergency planning legislation
Sir, – The Government’s proposed emergency planning legislation includes plans to restrict judicial review and to reduce cost protections in environmental cases (“Government seeks emergency planning powers to speed up infrastructure delivery,” November 1st). Yet the Irish Academy of Engineers’ report “Rebalancing Ireland’s Energy Policy”, published this week, identifies the real obstacles to infrastructure delivery as conflicting policy targets, lack of policy clarity and tardiness in policy delivery rather than judicial review.
While Ministers point the finger at judicial review, just 5.3 per cent of An Coimisiún Pleanála decisions were challenged this year. The academy’s findings expose the Government’s scapegoating. Instead of addressing the systemic failures in policy co-ordination and delivery, Ministers are choosing to restrict Irish citizens’ constitutional right to hold public authorities to account.
Judicial review exists precisely because public bodies make errors that require correction. When An Coimisiún Pleanála fails to follow proper procedures, as repeated judicial reviews demonstrate, the answer is not to silence citizens but to ensure the authority is properly resourced and capable of competent decision-making.
The proposed cost restrictions are particularly cynical. Removing cost protections turns justice into a privilege that only the wealthy can afford, effectively silencing community groups and environmental advocates who lack the resources of powerful developers and the State.
RM Block
If the Government were confident in its planning decisions, it would welcome judicial scrutiny rather than fear it. Ireland’s infrastructure delays demand honest solutions based on coherent policy, adequate resources and competent administration. Weakening judicial review will not accelerate delivery. It will erode the constitutional safeguards that protect both citizens and the environment from poorly considered decisions. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O’MEARA,
Fenor,
Co Waterford.
Single people and homelessness
Sir, – In your interviews with single homeless people in the Focus Ireland Coffee Shop (“We are human beings too: homeless singles react to the Government housing plan prioritising families,” November 17th), the impression is given that the Government’s new commitment to prioritise housing for long-term homeless families would in some way come at a cost to single homeless people, pushing them to the back of a single queue. This is not the case, as a family with four children is not in competition for the same housing allocation as a single person; giving additional assistance to the family takes nothing from the single person.
There is a separate and important case that more attention should be paid to the homelessness of single people. The new plan does in fact include the first ever commitment to build more one-bed apartments which single people need, as well as to take targeted measures to help families trapped in homelessness for years.
These are positive steps and are among the ones the Government must take to start working towards ending homelessness. While it is self-evident the Government needs to do much more to tackle the housing and homeless crisis, it does not mean that any progress for one group of very disadvantaged people can only come at the expense of another group of disadvantaged people. – Yours, etc,
MIKE ALLEN,
Director of Advocacy, Research and Communications,
Focus Ireland,
Dublin 8.
Neutrality in a changing world
Sir, – On November 17th Rob Fairmichael followed up on the question posed earlier by Michael McDowell (“How many Irish women and men could rally to the flag and handle an automatic weapon?” November 12th). In each case the question arose of how ready the young people of Ireland might be to handle a weapon in the event they were asked to rally to the flag to defend our neutrality.
The model for a neutral nation is Switzerland. I have just finished reading a book about that, called Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II, by Stephen P Halbrook.
Before and during the war it was a key part of Swiss defence strategy that every able-bodied citizen should not only keep a rifle and ammunition at home, but be proficient in its use, through regular attendance at shooting clubs and competitions. There are still a lot of guns in circulation, but they are now strictly regulated.
Such a policy would have been unthinkable when we entered the “neutral country” club. For one thing, a sizeable proportion of the population would have turned the weapons they had been given upon their neighbours and the authorities − we had just come out of a dreadful Civil War; subversion was rife and remained so for a very long time.
Be that as it may, the author makes one very salient point: it is abundantly clear from the book that the Swiss understand clearly that if neutrality is not armed neutrality, as opposed to the pacific kind of neutrality we have been living with since it became policy during the second World War, it is not worth having at all.
It is still not a realistic proposition that we should have an armed civilian militia, but we do need to do a lot of work to strengthen our regular Army, and we do need to provide our Defence Forces with the technology and equipment, including such things as fighter jets, they would require to make sure our policy of neutrality can withstand an attack on it, from wherever it comes. − Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
Baggot Street Hospital building
Sir, − Una Mullally raises a fair question about whether or not to sell the Baggot Street Hospital building (“Baggot Street Hospital is an amazing asset. Why sell it?,” Opinion, November 17th).
But I think the answer to her question is fairly obvious. It will sell for a very good price in the current highly inflated property market in Dublin. That money will then become available for the Government to build modern, fuel-efficient housing suitable for working people in a location more appropriate. This is a “no-brainer”. − Yours, etc,
DAVID McCARTER,
Hillsborough,
Co Down.
Sir, − What a wonderful Monday morning: a good rugby story and a great soccer story and an article by Una Mullally with which I agree. And she even managed to mention our hardworking local TD James Geoghegan without the usual disparaging comment.
But she is bang-on right about Baggot Street Hospital. What has been allowed happen is a scandal of governmental and HSE inaction and mindless bureaucracy. This fine building has been left to rot to the point where only the facade remains. And it’s not as if there were not several proposals over the years from local and business interests, led by the estimable Mick Quinn and the late and much lamented Siobhán Cuffe, to convert it into housing units such as Una Mullally proposes. All their efforts were simply ignored.
I fear it may now be too late and see little prospect of the HSE and Government showing the slightest willingness to listen even at this late stage. − Yours, etc,
MAURICE MANNING
Dublin 4.
Housing for all
Sir, − Deputy Ivana Bacik repeatedly announces that Ireland should provide “Housing for all” as a civil rights issue in which the Irish State should intervene.
Can she explain, please? Does this statement mean the State should supply free houses to all citizens who cannot afford to rent or buy? Over what age should this happen? What type of houses should be supplied? Is it families or individuals that would be entitled to a house? If a couple separate, should each subsequently be entitled to a house?
There are many questions that Ms Bacik and her Labour colleagues need to answer to explain this simplified statement. − Yours, etc,
GERALDINE GREGAN,
Co Clare.
Remote working debate
Sir, − In relation to Denis O’Brien’s musings on working from home, the last thing we need is more traffic on the roads. − Yours, etc.
LOMAN Ó LOINGSIGH,
Kiltipper Road,
Dublin 24.
War in Ukraine
Sir, − It is extraordinary and inexplicable that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has permitted young men between the ages of 18 and 22 years to leave the country and, by so doing, avoid military service.
At a time when the Ukrainian army is suffering terrible casualties and is short of personnel and under intense pressure at the front line, it is hard to believe t such a decision should be made by those responsible for the defence and the very existence of the country.
It is understandable that very young men should not be exposed to front-line combat but surely the tens of thousands in that age cohort could be trained for other non front-line roles that would make a significant contribution to the war effort. It is not to the credit of these people that they are fleeing the country and avoiding service.
Such behaviour puts unnecessary pressure on countries providing refuge and assistance to those forced to flee from the horrors of the Russian invasion.
Neither does it help the Ukrainian Government as it seeks assistance and solidarity from allies to have such large numbers of men avoiding national service. − Yours, etc,
HUGH PIERCE,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare
Resignation of Paschal Donohoe
Sir, − Your report on Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe’s move to the World Bank noted that he has “been tipped for an international role for some time”.
I cannot resist the urge to rephrase: the Minister has, “for some time”, appeared determined to avoid tarnishing his status in the eyes of world powers as a man “tipped for an international role”. His response to the genocide in Gaza has been a case in point.
Donohoe backed Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf’s refusal to invoke the powers at his disposal to end our Central Bank’s regulation of sales of Israel bonds across EU markets; a policy that sees money stream into the Israeli exchequer to fund the intermittent slaughter and starvation of Palestinians.
Not only this: the Minister responded with vitriol to accusations from Opposition TDs that the Irish Government was thus complicit in genocide.
In fact, the Government always had multiple means of ending this abysmal practice, ranging from invoking the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, to following the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers (OPLA) advice and drafting suitable legislation in Dáil Éireann.
While I wish Mr Donohoe well in his new role, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the accusations he found so objectionable were simply a statement of fact.
And still, Ireland’s unconscionable complicity in ethnic cleansing continues. Ireland, as the once-off chosen home member state under EU regulations, continues to offshore the regulation of Israel bonds to CSSF, Luxembourg. Our Government could pull the plug on this stream of funding if they had the political will to do so.
How many more Palestinians must be killed before our Government steps on to the right side of history? − Yours, etc,
BRIAN Ó ÉIGEARTAIGH
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4
Sir, – With this morning’s news from Dublin Central it seems like we could be in for a period of a lot of moving deckchairs aboard the Fine Gael ship as the country sails into choppy waters and many stormy seas ahead. − Yours, etc,
NOEL SHANAGHY,
Faithlegg,
Co Waterford.
Name changer
Sir, − I share Caomhán’s Mac Con Iomaire’s frustration (Letters, November 18th) with how Irish people regularly deal with Irish names/surnames, inquiring automatically almost “What’s that in English?”
Sharing the same surname as Caomhán, Mac Con Iomaire, and being raised with and through Irish in Dublin, it was a common bugbear of mine and indeed of all my siblings.
“What’s that in English?” was usually preceded with, “Mac a What?” A common defence on our part regularly came in the response: “The son of the red-haired mountain warrior, who hunts for fish on a Friday!” On hearing this, they normally chose to accept the Irish version.
Although I must confess, that since Colm Mac Con Iomaire has become more well known in this country for his music, the surname no longer seems to cause as much difficulty. The question that arises more commonly these days is, “Any relation to the fiddle player?” − Yours, etc,
RUAIRÍ Mac CON IOMAIRE
Baile na hAbhann,
Co Na Gaillimhe.
RTÉ Radio 1 schedule
Sir, − I am at a loss to understand the thinking of moving Oliver Callen off the slot after Morning Ireland to a later slot and putting David McCullagh in its place. This show often covers news items already covered on Morning Ireland. We need a break! Get Oliver back to where he belongs. − Yours, etc,
COLM O’BRIEN,
Kiltipper Rd,
Dublin 24.
Troy’s hat-trick
Sir, − Gavin Cummiskey quoted WB Yeats after Troy Parrott’s brilliant hat-trick changed things utterly for Ireland (“Ireland finish in style to keep their World Cup dreams alive”, Sports Monday, November 17th). But Yeats is no authority on football. He wrote a poem called “No Second Troy”. And clearly there was a second against Portugal. And then on Sunday, a second and a third. − Yours, etc,
COLIN WALSH,
Templeogue,
Dublin D6W.
