Sir, – Is it Government policy to waste people’s time in the hope that it placates them?
We have had a Citizens’ Assembly and an Oireachtas committee on drug use, both coming up with a long list of recommendations. These processes take up an extraordinary amount of time from the experts, the members of the committee/assembly and the public.
However, the Government seems intent to just cast aside all of that very considered work because they don’t like the outcome or it doesn’t fit in with their pre-existing misconceptions on a topic.
The Government’s attitude reminds me of shopping with my toddler. To keep him busy while I get bread and milk, he gets to trawl the shelves to pick out a treat. If the treat doesn’t line up with what I want him eating, I try to sneak it out of the cart when he’s not looking and hope he forgets about it when he gets home.
RM Block
Unfortunately for the Government, they aren’t hiding a chocolate bar from a toddler who can be placated with raisins, they are tossing out thousands of hours of careful consideration and dismissing the lived experience of many in our society.
These assemblies and committees should not be time-wasting exercises to keep the Opposition and the public occupied. They are amazing avenues for getting informed and debated policies ready for implementation, I hope they start treating them that way. – Yours, etc,
EANNA GLYNN,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.
