Letters to the Editor: Sacrificing assets to hit unreachable targets

Irish Examiner

19-05-2025

Environment minister Darragh O'Brien should reflect on his recent comments that specific guidelines around the installation of solar farms are not necessarily required for Ireland.
Given that the Government agreed to the unachieveable targets for 2030 with no mandate from the Irish people and recent reports from Irish Academy of Engineering's Eamon O'Reilly, this push to roll out solar farms ignores all the warning signs of the reckless sacrifices of food production land, health and welfare of communities, and depopulation of rural communities due to the risk of living in an energy-producing industrial estate.
We have no government guidelines requiring fire safety reports for solar farms, no glint and glare guidelines on which to base reports, and these are 40-year developments that will change the environment in which people live.
Climate change is real, as is risk to security of supply, but why sacrifice our nation's assets to a renewable energy source dependant on climate? Why has our Government not looked to the future by putting in place alternative, more reliable, energy sources? Or is it just easier to sacrifice the country's assets in a futile attempt to achieve the unachieveable targets? Maybe our Goverment should reflect on what will be lost to communities due to the lack of a realistic approach regarding renewable energy and the planning around it.
Mr O'Brien states that the economic benefits of investing in our grid and renewables for people in this country will be vast.
Who are those 'people'? I, for one, cannot see any benefit as I live at the foothill of the Ballyhouras in Ballyhea in a rural, agricultural community, that will be transformed into a large-scale industrial energy-producing estate.
Jess Foley, Charleville, Co Cork
Genocide in Gaza by design
Regarding the article: 'We are in Israel's endgame for Gaza — we must stop it now' (Irish Examiner, May 16). This is an excellent piece of journalism. On the one hand, a personal and impassioned plea to stop the genocide, while at the same time a concise and accurate account of what had happened to the civilians in Gaza. Widespread famine looms, a man-made famine that can be addressed at any moment by the Israeli government. Release the trucks and prevent starvation. The article is clear and correct, this is genocide by design to destroy the population of the Gaza Strip, force them out and reoccupy the strip. All leaders and all media need to stand up to the Israeli and US governments to stop the genocide.
Eileen Moore, Drimoleague, Cork
Culture change for public spending
I did not know whether to laugh or cry when I heard that an audit found there had been no value for money assessment on the €336,000 Leinster House bike shelter.
This audit, conducted by Deloitte, highlights the fact that there was an absence of some fundamental good practices for projects such as the bike shed. This audit also found that while the OPW had a programme management plan in place, it was not necessarily easy to navigate.
All I can say in response to same, is that an amateur could have come up with these findings. In response to this report, we learn that the OPW has now promised to address the specifics of this report. It's my assertion that unless the culture of corruption and cronyism is addressed, all these reports will fall under the rubric of window dressing.
The next time we face another scandal of this nature, we will no doubt have another audit report, which will again be followed by the familiar rhetoric of new lessons have been learned. Unless the culture is addressed within these entities, nothing will ever change.
John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Grading changes spark AI concerns
Education minister Helen McEntee has warned that second-level teachers could lose up to 5% of pay due under public service deals if they fail to co-operate with proposed Leaving Cert reforms.
This confrontational approach is ill-advised as teachers have legitimate concerns about the integrity, equity, and fairness of the proposed 'additional assessment components' (AAC), based on candidates' unsupervised external work. An AAC will be worth at least 40% of the marks and is reputedly designed to assess students' skills and competencies in a way that a terminal written exam cannot.
All new and revised Leaving Cert subjects will include at least one AAC. Seven revised Leaving Cert subjects as well as two new subjects — Drama, Film and Theatre Studies and Climate Action and Sustainable Development — are due for introduction in September. Further sets of revised subjects will be phased in annually until 2029. The official view that the AAC will reduce the stress on students at the terminal written exams is psychologically naive.
Teachers have concerns about the Leaving Cert reforms, particularly accelerating their implementation amid growing concerns about assessment integrity. Teachers feel that there is a lack of knowledge and guidance on the use of AI and on the authentication of work submitted by students. Smaller class sizes, more access to IT in classrooms, more support for students with special education needs and less well-off students are also priorities for teachers.
The minister must take the teachers' concerns on board as the devil is in the detail. Consider the effect of the AAC in higher level maths. The AAC is worth at least 40% of the marks — Grade H6 or 46 CAO points. But as 25 bonus points are awarded in higher level maths for Grade H6 or above, many candidates will have scored 71 CAO points in maths ever before sitting the terminal exam.
Expect the AI experts to be on that gravy train!
Billy Ryle Tralee, Co Kerry
Fuelling EV sales
In my opinion, the two biggest deterrents to take up of EVs are (1) the price of petrol and (2) mis-information about EV batteries. I would love to see the EV sales figures when petrol was hitting €2 per litre. Put petrol to €3 per litre and sales will soar. Range anxiety only really exists when people buy the wrong car for their usage pattern. Buying one with a battery size appropriate to your daily needs is very important. And a home charger is a must for economical usage.
Cormac Champion, Ballinteer, Dublin
Cost to see clearly
Families are being forced to spend hundreds of euro just so a child can see — and that is simply not right.
My granddaughter is four years old. She has a prescription of +7.5 in one eye and +7.25 in the other. Without her glasses, she cannot see. The HSE provides just one pair, including thinning for her strong prescription. But there's no provision for a second pair.
We had to buy another pair privately. The cost? €270 — including €170 for thinning the lenses and €100 for the frames.
What happens when that one pair breaks or is lost, as is common with young children?
For her, it would mean functional blindness until they're replaced — unless we pay.
A second pair of glasses for children with high prescriptions should be part of standard care. Public health should not rely on private means for a child to see.
Catherine Masterson, Carlow
Trump's failures
US president Trump has had many failures and, in fairness, some successes.
For instance, he failed to fix the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours.
He failed to solve the genocidal war in Gaza and failed to make Canada the 51st state.
He has failed to take over
Greenland and the Panama Canal. His deluded tariff war has backfired spectacularly, leading to increased inflation and possibly a recession.
But as for his successes, he has succeeded in making the USA the laughing stock of the world and he himself its greatest buffoon, if a dangerous one.
He has succeeded in alienating America's closest allies and needlessly disrupted the global trading system.
Perhaps his greatest impact is that he has embarrassed millions of American citizens who are leaving in droves, many of whom are planning to come to Ireland and the EU.
The only consolation is that many of his Maga supporters, as they face increasing prices while losing their jobs, medical aid and social insurance, are slowly beginning to realise that they were conned by Trump and his sycophants, and will hopefully respond accordingly in the midterm elections next year.
John Leahy, Wilton, Cork
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