Sir, – Yesterday, the Government announced that it was abandoning plans to split the Road Safety Authority (RSA) into two new agencies, one responsible for services and the other for road safety (“Government U-turn on reforming Road Safety Authority criticised in Dáil,”December 17th). This restructuring had been proposed following an independent external review of the organisation.
The reason given for this disturbing reversal was simple: it would be too expensive.
Improving road safety, it seems, is too expensive.
On the same day, The Irish Times published its article, “Best cars to buy in 2026: Standout models and overall best buy”.
RM Block
In the article, the authors note that they had driven or tested more than 170 new cars between them in the past year.
At a time of worsening congestion, stagnant transport emissions, and rising road deaths, it is worth asking what role such extensive coverage plays in normalising ever increasing car use. The promotion of so called “city runabouts” is particularly troubling. We should not be encouraging private car use in our cities.
Ultimately, this is a public health issue. The negative health impacts of our car centric transport system are well documented, from road injuries and deaths to air pollution and physical inactivity. The monetary cost of these effects are enormous.
By contrast, active travel delivers clear and wide ranging health benefits, yet these benefits remain rarely discussed in transport policy and public debate. In the grand scheme of things, changing the RSA is not expensive, but inaction is.
In recent weeks, news coverage has been dominated by worsening congestion across the country, particularly in Dublin, alongside rising death tolls on Irish roads.
This is not to suggest that articles promoting new car purchases are directly responsible for either trend.
But, taken together with the decision on the RSA, they reinforce a powerful, damaging, and disturbing narrative: that cars are kings and that the status quo is working.
It is not. – Yours, etc,
DR OLA LØKKEN NORDRUM,
Beggars Bush,
Dublin 4.
Bondi Beach and Israel
Sir, – In querying the “singling out of Israel for judgment by special standards that are not applied to other countries”, David Woods has – perhaps unintentionally – hit the nail on the head (Letters, December 17th).
Benefiting as it does from billions of dollars every year in US military aid, favourable access to EU markets via the Euro-Med Trade Agreement, and a US veto consistently deployed at the UN Security Council to shield it from accountability, the Israeli state is indeed “singled out” with “special standards that are not applied to other countries”.
Unlike many of the nations that Mr Woods accuses of “similar or worse alleged deeds elsewhere”, the Israeli state has never been the subject of economic sanctions or even arms embargoes by the West, despite decades of human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, and despite the defiance of successive Israeli governments of numerous UN resolutions.
It is outrage at precisely this impunity that motivates ordinary people throughout the world – and especially in Ireland due to our historical experience of colonial oppression – to support the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, justice and equality. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN Ó ÉIGEARTAIGH,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.
Sir, –In his letter of December 17th, David Woods is asking us to ignore Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians in order to prevent anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world.
My answer to Mr Woods is that we can’t – no moral person can ignore one of the great injustices of the last 100 years.
Over that period Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people has been cruel and unjust, and certainly within the last two years has been genocidal.
It has never been a justification of injustice to say “other people are doing it”. Just because we don’t have the capacity to condemn all injustices in the world doesn’t mean that we cannot condemn those that strike us as particularly heinous and those against a people with whom we feel a particular affinity.
We are not holding Israel to a higher standard than other countries.
We are holding them to a standard defined by a court at Nuremberg, to a standard set out by the UN Charter, and to standards used by the International Criminal Court.
As John Donne wrote “No man is an island”. We have a right to speak out against injustice wherever it occurs. – Yours, etc,
ROBERT DUNNE,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Electricity bills on the rise
Sir, – Yet again, household electricity bills are going up and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) approved this as we need a major upgrade to the system.
Yes we do, but where has our PSO levy gone to, the levy that every household has been paying this since 2010 to fund our national renewable energy goals?
Could the CRU explain where exactly this money has been spent? I have asked this question before and have done some research on it but have not gotten a straight answer. – Yours, etc,
KATHLEEN WOUMANS,
Leap,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Frank Noonan (Letters December 17th) fears it will be the customers who pay for the planned improvements to the electricity grid.
He rather invites the question “Who would you expect to pay for it?” – Yours , etc,
COLUM FARRELLY
Derry.
Sir,– Most companies manage profits in order to finance future development and maybe borrow prudently to supplement requirements.
So why are customers expected to subside very profitable energy companies?
Maybe we should have “another” enquiry. – Yours , etc,
ALEC QUINN,
Limerick.
The pipeline to Dublin
Sir, – I totally agree with Matt Nolan, on the proposed pipeline to Dublin, (Letters, December 16th).
He suggests even a modest domestic charge would help to reduce water use. I am involved in a small (less than 100 houses) scheme in Spain that was built 20 years ago.
At the beginning the community agreed to divide the total water bill among each property in proportion to the size of each property, and take the money from the community funds.
There was then concern regarding the large water charges and it was decided to charge each property individually, which was not difficult as all houses were all fitted with water meters at the time of building.
The total water consumption reduced by 51 per cent. – Yours, etc,
CLIVE EVANS,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Matt Nolan correctly suggests that our priority should be “balanced regional development,” rather than draining the lifeblood of rural Ireland to sustain unchecked urban sprawl. There are other solutions such as minimising leakage, which is a criminal wastage of a precious resource.
An additional solution would be the construction of a number of desalination plants on the east coast.
These could supply unlimited water to Dublin at a fraction of the cost of transporting water from the Shannon. – Yours, etc,
JV CARROLL,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin.
Immigration and housing
Sir, – I have been puzzled and disappointed at the recent negative focus by the Government on immigration. Now, after reading Liam Herrick’s article in your newspaper, I am extremely concerned at the Government’s sudden change in stance on support for the European Convention of Human Rights (“Why has Ireland abruptly decided the European Convention on Human Rights goes too far?, December 16th).
Illegal immigration is relatively small and is certainly not the core reason for the failure of this Government, after decades, to deal with issues of housing, healthcare etc.
Our rules around all immigration should be reviewed regularly to ensure they are in the long-term interest of the country, while respecting human rights, but the way this Government is going about it, in the public domain, is completely inappropriate.
It is clearly being used as a way of blaming a vulnerable minority for the utter failure of this Government to do their job. It is so disappointing it has come to this. – Yours, etc,
CAROL COUSINS,
Skerries,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Following on from Liam Herrick’s article opinion I would add a cautionary tale: In 2014 the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, came into force and was signed in Istanbul.
As a result, the convention is referred to as the Istanbul Convention for short.
In March 2021, via Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decree, Turkey withdrew from the convention claiming it was incompatible with Turkey’s social and family values with claims that the convention promoted LGBTQ+ rights.
As well as this assertion being incorrect and as a result of the withdrawal, there has been a marked decline in the human rights of woman and children in Turkey. – Yours, etc,
ELLEN O’MALLEY-DUNLOP,
Member of CoE GREVIO
Expert Group,
Adjunct Professor
UL Law School,
Dublin 6W.
The price of an orange
Sir, – An orange tree only produces mature fruit after 10 years or so. In the meantime it has to be cared for, pruned, weeded, etc. The orange has to be sprayed while maturing.
Once picked, it has to be checked for quality then possibly sprayed with wax before being packed. It is then transported to the shipping point before being loaded into a container to be shipped.
Shipping can take anything from two weeks to two months depending on the origin of the orange.
Once in Dublin Port the box of oranges has to be removed from the container before being transported by lorry to the wholesaler’s warehouse.
From there it is transported (again by lorry) to the shop before being put on the shelf by hand. €1 is good value, 49c is a definite bargain.– Yours, etc,
JOHN DOYLE,
Enniskeane,
Cork.
Sir, – In response to Laura O’Mara’s question (Letters, December 17th) to explain the reason for a 51 cent price difference for an orange in two shops, the answer is a single word. Capitalism. –Yours, etc,
DR PAUL LAVIN,
Dublin 8.
Anniversary of Jane Austen
Sir, –This week marks the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, a writer whose influence has shaped generations. Her impact on literature and culture is both enormous and enduring. One of the first and finest English novelists, her works continue to resonate and help us understand timeless themes of love, friendship, family, and society.
I have always been intrigued by Austen’s life and how she managed to conjure so accurately a world we still recognise. Two centuries later, in a world so different from hers, we still find familiar points of satire –or solace –for life’s emotional ups and downs.
Austen’s stories remain relevant for every generation: from the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice that captivated mine, to Clueless reimagining Emma for the ‘90s, to waves of new fans on #BookTok crowning her the “most meme-d writer” after Shakespeare. Her influence also reminds us of the remarkable women who shaped literature alongside her – like Maria Edgeworth.
Edgeworth was a contemporary of Austen and both an accomplished educator and a celebrated novelist.
The two women greatly admired each other’s work. Austen praised Edgeworth’s novels and took the liberty of sending her unbound copies of her new works with a note “from the author”.
Edgeworth responded with appreciation for Austen’s writing. Their mutual admiration reminds us that creativity and dialogue can transcend borders and endure across time.
To honour that spirit, the British Embassy and British Council sponsored the Creative Postcards initiative, bringing together over 800 students from 35 schools across Ireland and the UK to explore the theme of friendship.
Using the National Library of Ireland’s archives and inventive techniques like blackout poetry, they reimagined Austen and Edgeworth’s words for 2025.
The results are varied, stimulating, and outstanding. This collaboration celebrates not only Austen’s legacy but also the cultural and social ties that bind our two islands.
The postcards are on display for anyone to see at the National Library until January 6th, when they will transfer to Austen House in England for an exhibition.
I like to imagine Jane sitting at her desk there, wondering that her own writing had inspired such superb artistic reinterpretations.
To future readers of Austen: approach her with curiosity and hope. Her words still have the power to surprise, delight, and guide us.
I will leave the last word to her: There is nothing that friendship cannot undertake; when it is founded on principle and cemented by affection. – Yours, etc,
KARA OWEN,
British Ambassador to Ireland,
Dublin.
Sir, – I am delighted to see discussion of Pride and Prejudice in the Letters section. Daniel Kelly writes on the character of Eliza Bennet, but there are a few corrections (Letters, December 17th).
Willoughby is a character in Sense and Sensibility who causes a scandal by seducing the ward of Colonel Brandon and abandoning her while pregnant. The person who Mr Darcy hates in Pride and Prejudice is the infamous Wickham, a compulsive gambler and a rake who tries to elope with Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, but ultimately is made to marry Eliza’s sister, Lydia by Mr Darcy to save their family from ruin and disgrace.
Bennet also has just one “t”.
As to the motivation of Eliza Bennet, when asked by her sister Jane on how long she has loved Mr Darcy, she replies: “It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley”.
This is not to cast her as only a “golddigger” – she was impressed by the taste and natural beauty seen, as well as how well spoken of he was by staff that had known him his whole life.
I would argue that Eliza’s heart was won by seeing Pemberley – it is the reader who needs the suitor to further prove their worth in the book, whereas if watching the 1995 BBC adaption, we are all convinced by the time Colin Firth emerges from the lake. – Yours, etc,
DR MARIA O’BRIEN,
Bayside,
Dublin.
