Sir, – I am not surprised at the negative reaction to those at Charlemont who are challenging MetroLink, which is now being judicially reviewed (“MetroLink to be delayed following legal challenge,” November 26th). However, they will do us all a great service if the metro is stopped at St Stephen’s Green for now.
It was obvious at the planning hearing that having the terminus at Charlemont was a really bad idea and it is really disappointing that the planning people bought the pup.
The reasons why this is bad go far beyond the space afforded by your letters column but include the following:
– the waste of an estimated ¤600 million in public money creating a railway line from St Stephen’s Green to Charlemont when there is already a perfectly good line connecting both points in the form of the Luas;
RM Block
– the fact that it’s blindingly obvious that the metro should be extended southward, with Tallaght the obvious candidate (If Charlemont was a mere intermediate stop, residents’ concerns would be less);
– clear logistical problems in moving millions of passengers a year at a constricted site to and from an inadequate overground Luas stop including everyone having to climb steps;
– future plans to terminate lots of planned lines serving all parts of the south city at Charlemont, so that everyone is deposited 1.5km south of the centre. So it seems a Luas line ex-Terenure and ex-UCD are projected only to go as far as Charlemont.
It is obvious that the way forward is to drop Charlemont now, build to the Green and that the Government proceeds now to evaluate all the extension options, as they committed to do for Tallaght in the programme for government. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN HENEGHAN,
Terenure,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – I hope the 19 residents of Dartmouth Square West who have decided to take a judicial review over plans to place the MetroLink terminus at Charlemont Station understand that their action will result in an increase in road traffic numbers, traffic noise, and air pollution on Dublin’s streets.
To ensure they do, I intend to drive my car for three or four laps around Dartmouth Square every time I travel into the city centre in future.
This will give them a sense of what the residents of Glasnevin, Cabra, Drumcondra and Phibsborough have to endure every day, as cars choke our roads, and our children’s lungs. – Yours, etc,
NICK ROYLE,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – On the basis that there’s no such thing as a stupid question I ask the following: if the judicial review on the proposed MetroLink from Swords to Ranelagh relates to the last stop on the line, why are we immediately discussing the “inevitable delay”?
Just see the project as in two parts – Swords to the city and then to Ranelagh. Work proceeds while the review takes place.
We need pace, passion, energy and focus to deliver. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL WHELAN,
Rathfarnham.
Dublin 16.
Sir, – Now in my 78th year, I think I can confidently remove travelling to Dublin Airport on the MetroLink from my bucket list of things I hope to do before I die
. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK O’BYRNE,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.
Children and Education
Sir, – I agree with Shane Bergin that children should be at the heart of a national conversation about education, but only in the sense that educationalists should make sure that our international educational reputation is not sacrificed on an altar of mediocrity and inclusion at any cost (“A national conversation about the future of Irish education is about to start. It could be magical,” November 25th)
That is keeping children’s interests at the heart of changes in secondary education.
I was recently collared by a parent from another school, whose daughter, having recently arrived in the country and having been a high-flier academically, was basically doing nothing academic at all in the Transition Year at her school.
I told her this was not unusual and reflected a different educational philosophy, an answer that left him slightly bewildered.
I worry that after the selling out of academic rigour in the Junior Cycle, followed by a less than academic Transition Year, and now changes to the Leaving Certificate that are not supported by most school leaders, in a few years’ time Ireland will not be able to maintain its current standing in the world.
So let’s have that national conversation about education, but please let’s not be sentimental about it. – Yours, etc,
MARK BOOBBYER,
Principal,
St Columba’s College,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – In response to the article on teaching in Ireland (“Kids are quite conformist nowadays: Teachers assess education in Ireland,” November 26th), I would like to offer a perspective from many years in the classroom. I have taught in inner-city schools in the UK, including schools that had failed inspections, and in secondary schools across Northern Ireland. I have never encountered a “bad” pupil – only children shaped by challenging circumstances and, at times, difficult parents.
For me, it was always a privilege to work with young people. Entrusting a school with a child’s education is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give.
Having spent a lifetime in classrooms, I can say with confidence that today’s students are far more thoughtful, capable and conscientious than I ever was at their age.
Working with them, I have nothing but high hopes for the future. – Yours, etc,
ENDA CULLEN,
Armagh.
School leavers and construction
Sir, – As a young university graduate, I have a clear and personal view of the effects of the housing crisis on both myself and my peers.
However, Sheila Deegan’s suggestion that all school leavers should be required to work in the construction industry shows a misunderstanding of how the modern sector functions and of the issues it faces (Letters, November 25th).
While there are labour shortages, these are shortages of skilled workers. The idea that Leaving Cert students (many of whom would be uninterested and unlikely to remain long enough to gain real expertise) could meaningfully address this misunderstands the years of training, commitment and professionalism required to complete a four-year apprenticeship in most trades.
It also overlooks the considerable cost of providing training, supervision and tools for inexperienced temporary workers.
Finally, such a proposal would only serve to delay young people in pursuing their chosen career paths at a time when they are already navigating an uncertain housing and economic landscape. – Yours, etc,
MATTHEW PARKER,
Foxrock,
Dublin 18.
Talkers, doers and process
Sir, – David McWilliams’s characterisation of lawyers as “talkers” rather than “doers” in his recent piece complaining of sluggish housing and infrastructure delivery bears comment in at least one respect (“To get things done, Ireland needs more engineers and fewer lawyers,” November 22nd).
He praises the virtue of completion, scale and speed in delivering projects, decries legal process, and points to Chinese projects as “pushing the boundaries of engineering limitations”. Perhaps he should visit the Barrow Bridge between Kilkenny and Wexford, which opened in 2020 and features the longest concrete spans of their kind in the world.
Earlier this month, the 758m Hongqi bridge in China collapsed before completion, killing 12 workers, with others still missing. A few months before that, a railway bridge in the Chinese province of Quinghai collapsed before completion, killing at least 12 workers. Four bridges collapsed in China in 2024, killing at least 42 people. In 2024 Ireland recorded its lowest-ever number of workplace fatalities.
A sea-change in workplace safety came with the creation of the Health and Safety Authority pursuant to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, a law passed by those “talkers” in Dáil Éireann. Process matters. – Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE NÍ FHLOINN.
Dublin 14.
Trump and Putin
Sir, – For some unexplained reason US president Donald Trump seems to think that Russian president Vladimir Putin – if any kind of a peace agreement for Ukraine can be reached – will keep his word.
As his meeting in Alaska showed, it was rather like Neville Chamberlain coming back from meeting Adolf Hitler shouting peace in our time. – Yours, etc,
DAVID MURNANE,
Dunshaughlin,
Co Meath.
Renaming Dublin Airport
Sir, – Yesterday, Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne introduced a Bill to formally rename Dublin Airport as Seán Lemass International Airport. This misses an opportunity to honour a leader who embodies modern Ireland.
If the goal is to honour a leader who is a symbol of a progressive Ireland, Mary Robinson should receive that honour.
Mr Byrne’s Bill seeks to recognise “a leader whose vision transformed Ireland” and he rightly refers to Lemass’s influential role in securing Ireland’s entry into the EEC, the precursor to the EU.
However, Lemass was also a key figure of conservative Ireland. He held ministerial posts in every single one of Éamon de Valera’s governments and was closely tied to policies that delayed many of the social reforms we now take for granted.
While Lemass may have paved the way for a modern economy, he was not the architect of social change and equality in Ireland.
Across this country there are countless monuments to male leaders, while the contributions of women to Irish society are overlooked and not recognised nearly as often.
For far too long, women in Ireland were discriminated against on the basis of their sex; the marriage bar was abolished after Lemass left office. Even today there are fewer female leaders in Irish society, we have never had a female taoiseach and only 25 per cent of TDs are women, the western EU average is 37 per cent.
Before the Cabinet reshuffle there were an equal number of men named James as there were women. This makes Mary Robinson’s achievements all the more remarkable.
If the aim is to name our most prominent airport after an Irish leader whose record echoes that of Charles de Gaulle, Adolfo Suárez and John F Kennedy, we ought to choose a leader celebrated not only for economic development but also for contributions to democracy, peace and human rights.
Mary Robinson is the obvious choice. She was the first female president of Ireland, and a former United Nations high commissioner for human rights. She championed the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the legalisation of contraception and divorce.
Undoubtedly, she was instrumental in creating a modern and more equal Ireland and shattered glass ceilings for Irish women along the way. – Yours, etc,
ANJELICA FOLEY,
Arklow,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Rather than go down the rabbit hole of trying to find an acceptable politician to name Dublin Airport after, why not call it Alcock and Brown International?
This would help shatter the collective delusion of Americans that Lindberg was the first to fly the Atlantic. We could even make correctly answering the question of “who was first” a requirement for entry. – Yours, etc,
DAVID ROLFE,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Covid memorial?
Sir, – We seem to have collectively consigned the fearful and extraordinary Covid years to oblivion.
Are there any plans for a national memorial to remember those who lost their lives so suddenly in tragic isolation? Should there be? – Yours, etc,
SUE HILL,
Goleen,
West Cork.
Talk, talk
Sir, – I have always been an ardent listener to RTÉ Radio One. Having heard in-depth discussions on Morning Ireland about current affairs for two hours, I looked forward to Ryan Tubridy’s daily programme, after the news at 9am.
He chatted to us about his own news and general light matters. Oliver Callan, who replaced him, did the same, at 9am. Now, instead of their cheerful lively banter, we have more in-depth discussions about current affairs, until 11 o’clock.
It is too much. I object. – Yours, etc,
JEAN FARRELL,
Co Westmeath.
Remembering David Hanly
Sir, – Many years ago I was earmarked to go on Morning Ireland to explain Revenue’s brand new and controversial electronic customs declaration system.
It was to be my first ever live media interview and Revenue kindly arranged a “media prep course” for me the evening before with a well-known media expert (no, not Ivan Yates).
The course made me more nervous than I had been but one part gave me great comfort. According to the expert, the interviewers on Morning Ireland had a code of honour – they would tell the nervous interviewee what their first question was going to be.
Greatly reassured, I sat across from David the next morning and during the commercial break duly asked him what his first question would be.
I still remember his growled answer – “Frank, I haven’t effing thought of it yet.” Apart from that, a lovely man, and it was a half-decent interview. – Yours, etc,
FRANK DALY,
Terenure,
Dublin.
Great expectations
Sir, – Dara Mac Dónaill’s front page photograph yesterday, catching the expressions on the faces of family members awaiting the return of our troops from service with Unifil in South Lebanon, tells a story, not just of the anticipatory delight of imminently meeting loved ones, but also of relief from the daily anxiety that Defence Forces families have had to quietly deal with over decades.
In acclaiming, as the Christmas season is upon us, the return of another successful UN mission, we must not forget those (and their families) who have just deployed so that multiple Lebanese families may experience a peaceful Christmas. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GANNON,
Kilkenny.
