Sir, – On a recent visit to Carlow, I unfortunately received a fixed penalty notice for being in excess of a speed limit.
There was a sign advising speed cameras in operation but what was missing completely were visible speed limit signs to advise drivers of the speed limits in the area even, if not especially, before approaching after the speed camera sign.
In my experience this is common all over the country and especially in cities where road users are ‘supposed to know what the speed limit is’ in the absence of speed limit signs.
On a recent visit to London, while driving there, the roads are littered with speed limit signs leaving the driver in no doubt as to the speed limit and further, the local authorities paint the speed limit on the road, leaving no room for error.
RM Block
This signage is supported by monitoring cameras and the result is an obedient procession of cars moving through the city, all at the same speed and getting to their destinations in a similar time scale.
These cameras also serve to penalise drivers who ignore yellow junction boxes. In Ireland, it seems to be a sport as to how many drivers can squeeze into the yellow box, which at busier times causes gridlock.
Information and communication through visible and plentiful road signs backed up by cameras is perhaps a very simple solution to assist drivers and to stop the “gotcha” culture perpetuated by Gatso vans hiding around corners. Prevention is surely better than cure. - Yours, etc,
IAN McCARTHY,
Johnstown Road,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – We are told that the GoSafe speed-camera operation is not about making money. This is reassuring, particularly as the company is expected to receive more than ¤30 million from the Garda this year.
Indeed, the figures suggest that GoSafe is becoming one of the more successful enterprises in the country with €138 million in speeding fines generated between 2021 and 2025, of which €85.7 million went to the company.
Despite these huge profits, it is comforting to know that the principal purpose of the cameras is road safety rather than revenue generation. The fact that the operator receives €99.20 from every €160 fine is, presumably, merely a happy byproduct of keeping us safe.
I wonder if there is a business opportunity here – perhaps the Government could extend the same principle to other areas of public policy. A company could be contracted to monitor littering, illegal dumping, dog fouling with the State receiving the benefit of improved behaviour and the contractor receiving, say, 62 per cent of the fines – the possibilities are endless. This could help to keep us all safe and well, and at least we would know that it wasn’t about the money. – Yours, etc,
GEOFF SCARGILL,
Bray,
Co. Wicklow.
Sir, – The Government is to be commended for the lightning speed with which they have acted on e-scooter legislation, although it is unclear if their actions are appropriate or will be effective. In July, serious concerns were highlighted by the medical profession about serious injuries involving this mode of transport, and new laws are in place in just a few months.
Contrast this with the appalling failure to tackle the deaths and serious injuries on our roads involving motor vehicles. We know that lower urban speed limits, average- and fixed-camera enforcement for speeding and phone use, and better road design will result in fewer collisions and save lives, yet this Government has delayed or reversed progress in this area.
The same level of urgency given to e-scooters is needed to make our roads safer for all users. – Yours, etc,
PAUL WALDRON,
Ballinteer,
Dublin 16.
Cohousing should be considered
Sir, – In her letter on right sizing, Sandra Ní Dhubhda (October 1st) raises issues that, I’m sure, are familiar to many in the same situation.
Cohousing could offer a solution. Members of cohousing communities design their own homes and shared spaces and set their own rules and management fees.
In addition to her suggestion that policymakers address the obstacles she outlined, they might also consider the Dutch government’s approach to housing for older people, given both countries are experiencing similar demographic changes and housing crises.
In addition to providing financial support for cohousing initiatives, the Dutch government also has a team of technical experts to advise new groups on the practical steps to setting up a new housing community.
This fits with their policy of encouraging older people to stay longer in appropriate, right-sized, future-proofed homes, thus delaying or avoiding the need for institutional care.
Presumably they believe the short-term investment will lead to greater savings in the long term. I wonder if the fledgling cohousing community movement in Ireland can look forward to a similar level of support in the near future? – Yours, etc,
ANITA McCABE,
Terenure,
Dublin.
The bus service disconnects
Sir, – I recently read with interest “BusConnects Dublin Construction Newsletter” with the following logos and slogans: “Bus Connects, Your City, Better Connected, Core Bus Corridors, Project 2040 Government of Ireland and NTA”.
The truth be told I never felt as disconnected in the 10 years that I have been commuting from Galway to Dublin to my place of work, Leinster House.
Back in 2016 when I started this weekly journey the very reliable Dublin Bus no 145 from Heuston Station was always on time and traversed the city with various stops along the way passing my place of employment on Kildare Street, then onwards to UCD. The 145 has now been replaced by the unreliable No 4 Bus that goes all the way out to Monkstown. It is often overly crowded, rarely arrives on time, frequently disappears off the live TFI digital display, is regularly seen to go down a cul-de-sac of no return at the back of Heuston Station, only to reappear again about 20 minutes later – if at all – to the Stop 4320 at the front of Heuston Station, if one is lucky.
Dublin Bus is the face of public transport in Dublin and receives hundreds of complaints due to ghost buses which, in my opinion, is not of its making but is as a direct result of the NTA, TFI and Government and poorly thought-out bus connections.
It’s hard to believe that in 2026, one must take two buses from Heuston Station to our national parliament on Kildare Street. Many UCD students I have met along the way also have to get two buses to go from Heuston Station to college.
The most difficult part of my three-hour commute from Galway to Dublin is the final leg of the journey from Heuston Station to Nassau Street; it used to take 20 minutes but can now take close to an hour and that is if the No 4 turns up.
Assuming that Project 2040 is achieved, does this mean 14 more years of BusDisconnections? – Yours, etc,
GERALDINE DONOHUE,
Loughrea,
Co Galway.
Banning plastic refuse sacks
Sir, – The elephant in the room in the dispute about the banning of plastic refuse bags by Dublin City Council is the fact that the council itself relies on private waste collectors. Residents have no choice but to use these firms, regardless of how efficient or reliable they may be.
In an effort to get in advance of the upcoming plastic bag ban, in my house we moved waste provider to avail of caddie bins. The bins themselves were poorly constructed, and could not be sealed against rain; in addition, they were very frequently left uncollected by the company, with no satisfactory explanation. When we cancelled our contract with that provider, the only option was to return to plastic bags.
Dublin City Council is leaving its residents at the mercy of a wasteful and unreliable system. If the council is going to dictate to residents the means of waste collection, they should take responsibility for it and establish a proper system of municipal waste collection. – Yours, etc,
DAVID M O’SHEA,
Dublin.
Segregated education
Sir, – The Garvaghy Road stand-off serves as a reminder that, despite the huge progress made since the Belfast Agreement, Northern Ireland remains a society divided.
Children do not enter the world believing that there is an “Us” and a “Them”. That concept is learned. It can be instilled and reinforced by family, community, religion, and politics, but also, crucially, by an education system in which children are still overwhelmingly segregated along religious lines.
Integrated education will not, by itself, resolve Northern Ireland’s constitutional or political issues, but bringing children of different traditions together from a young age and providing them with an opportunity to get to know each other as individuals rather than “others” is surely a sine qua non for long term integration and peace in Northern Ireland.
Segregation breeds tribalism and a sense of the “other”, of the unknown. This in turn can breed fear, prejudice, even hatred.
A child who grows up learning, playing, and forming friendships with children from another tradition is less likely to be prejudiced against them.
The scenes on the Garvaghy Road should prompt an obvious and fundamental question. If we genuinely want a peaceful and shared future in Northern Ireland, why should religiously divided education remain the norm?
Around 93 per cent of schools in the North are religiously segregated. In a 2021 survey, 71 per cent of respondents said that integrated education should be the “main model” for Northern Ireland’s education system. Yet integrated education in the North remains largely an aspiration.
Segregating children on religious grounds is neither natural, nor healthy, for a society.
The children of Northern Ireland have far more in common with each other than what separates them. They deserve an education system that reflects that reality and gives them the hope they all deserve. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Scrolling parents
Sir, – As a mother of three young children, I read with the letter by Ursula Hough-Gormley (September 30th) with familiarity.
The woman on the bus could have been me. Ignoring her child, looking at her phone or more specifically answering an email, supporting my staff following a difficult meeting, paying the creche fees that were due yesterday, booking the camp that sells out in five minutes, buying a present for the birthday party at the weekend, ordering groceries so I don’t miss the delivery slot, or writing a to-do list so I don’t forget these tasks and more.
Admittedly, sitting on a bus is not the ideal time to do any of this, but is usually the only time between 6am, when my children awake, and 11pm when I put my laptop away for the second time in the day, having caught up on the work I couldn’t complete between 9 and 5.
I wonder was the woman on the bus doing any of the aforementioned tasks. Or maybe she just wanted to look at her phone.
I dream of the day when I can sit on a bus in peace, observing my fellow passengers and writing a narrative about their lives. – Yours, etc,
JENNIFER RYAN,
Portobello,
Dublin 8.
Children’s lack of interaction
Sir, – Walking from my parked car to work this morning a schoolbus paused beside me in the traffic. Every occupant looked to be wearing headphones, absorbed in private worlds.
No one seemed to be speaking. For all our lamenting the effects of smartphones on attention spans in the classroom, this seems a much greater loss to me.
It’s likely during secondary school such pupils may spend a thousand or so hours in each other’s company but not interacting. The close links not being formed must be a huge missed opportunity. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Lotto love
Sir, – Occasionally when prompted by an ad for the Lotto I’m transported into a temporary reverie where I bask in that feeling of having won the thing. And knowing that I’ve only a slightly better chance of actually winning it if I buy a ticket, I’m doubly delighted that I had the feeling without experiencing the cost. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS FINN,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway.
Left standing
Sir, – I’m 90 and disabled, but my wife, who is younger than me, in her 80s, recently decided to eschew the car and give public transport a try. She took the train to Galway and was left standing for the entire journey.
Hardly an encouragement to use public transport. – Yours, etc,
DICK BYRNE,
Craughwell,
Co Galway.
Grammer misuse
Sir, – I would like to add some more examples of the misuse of grammar: an urban/rural “divide”, a “disconnect” between ... the search has been “stood down”, should have” went”. – Yours, etc,
BREDA TIERNEY,
Kilmallock
Co. Limerick
Sir , – I agree with recent correspondents about the misuse of grammar. However phrases such as “I was sat there ” seem to be peculiar to the English rather than the Irish.
One example of misuse is “He invited Mary and I ” instead of ” Mary and me”. It is incredible how many acclaimed authors are guilty of this error. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET BUTLER,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
