THE PEOPLE’S LETTERS PAGE

Sir,

As a regular user of Shanganagh Park in Shankill I notice that objections from 1,300 local users to a proposed sporting “development”, or rather mutilation, of this fine, public, grassy parkland have been disgracefully ignored by the mandarins at DLRC -Dun Laoghaire Co. Council.

Shangangh is a magnificent natural southside amenity, an area already boasting sports facilities a-plenty.

The sensible outcome would be to upgrade two or three of these to a higher standard instead of obliterating the glorious, wide open meadow adjacent to the St Annes/Castle Park entrances.

It is particularly absurd when seen in the light of DLRC’s trendy, insect -friendly “re-greening “of open grassland, which basically means saving money by not cutting the grass, allowing a profusion of weeds and grasses to take root.

Nice daises and dandelions though, it must be admitted.

A massive project construction of much-needed homes in the wider Shankill area is underway.

Are the thousands of new residents, adults and children, not entitled to open green grassland in which to run free?

Green public space is a rare commodity and will become even rarer in coming years.

Dare one say the mighty GAA has become the new power in the land, even more influential than the once almighty Catholic Church?

Heather Kuss,

23 Churchview Avenue,

Watsons,

Killiney

Dear Sir,

Having recently experienced the panic, frustration and anxiety of queueing for a flight at Dublin Airport, could I offer a simple suggestion?

The DAA could introduce a system whereby people are actively discouraged from arriving too early for their flights and are only permitted to join the queue for Security at an agreed time (e.g. two and a half hours before their departure).

Airport officials could monitor access to the queue by simply checking the passenger’s flight time details.

Ironically, the present problem at the airport is being worsened by people arriving extremely early for their flights (completely understandably given the present chaotic scenario).

These passengers, however, are clogging up the queues and preventing passengers who are travelling at earlier times from getting through security in time for their flights.

Obviously, this proposed scheme should be accompanied by adequate, proper and secure staffing levels by the DAA at Security but, in conjunction with that improvement, it should allow for a much smoother and less stressful experience for all concerned.

Surely it is worth a try, especially with the holiday season upon us?

Yours sincerely,

Sinéad Boland,

Co. Wicklow

 

Dear Editor.

A speaker at the recent Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss ended her moving and informative presentation by playing the sounds of species we rarely, or in some cases no longer, hear in the Irish countryside.

It made for sad listening, tinged with nostalgia and feelings about what might have been if we’d tried harder to preserve what remains of our wonderful wildlife heritage.

However, one sound I do not wish to hear in our countryside is a hare’s child-like screech on a coursing field, and a sight we can do without is that of this “flagship of Irish biodiversity” as conservationists have dubbed it, getting mauled, having its bones crushed, or being tossed into the air like a rag doll…for sport.

The Citizens’ Assembly will be making recommendations to the government at the conclusion of its deliberations.

But I ask: how can we trust a government, or any combination of parties, that supports and encourages the legality of hare coursing, a practise that is a serious criminal offence in other jurisdictions?

What confidence can we have in a politician who thinks it’s okay to set dogs on one of our truly native mammals, a creature that survived the last Ice Age of 10,000 years and was probably around for eons before that…to care a fig about our imperilled biodiversity?

To entrust the care of our precious wildlife heritage, which belongs to all of us and should not be the preserve of a heartless minority, to pro-hare coursing politicians would be on a par with putting vampires in charge of the Blood Bank.

Forcing thousands of captured hares to serve as live bait; apart from the animal welfare objections to it, does little to inspire confidence in our ability to address the multi-faceted threats to biodiversity.

It is a national scandal and a perennial blot on the landscape.

Thankfully, public support for it is declining so that this increasingly endangered species- the Irish hare coursing fan- may soon become extinct.

Thanking you,

John Fitzgerald

 

Dear Editor,

Following the aftermath of a crisis, law enforcement will always learn what they did right and what they could have done better.

When it comes to the recent mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, one huge point was tragically proven wrong, however.

That is the adage that the only person who can stop ‘a bad guy with a gun’, is ‘a good guy with a gun.’

It appears from the behaviour of the police on that horrific day in Texas last week that ‘a good guy with a gun’ is not enough to stop ‘a bad man with a gun.’

In fact, several ‘good guys with guns’ were sadly unable to stop that evil gunman and save all the children and teachers.

Unfortunately, I think we are going to see many more of these horrific incidents in the USA where the madness of the gun lobby shows no signs of abating.

Kind regards,

Frank Reilly,

Kildare