Letters to the Editor, May 27th: On housing, cycling and the decline of retail

Irish Times

27-05-2025

Sir, – That Dublin could run out of capacity for new homes by 2028 because of a delayed sewage plant sounds like satire – but it's deadly serious. In the middle of a housing crisis, with rents through the roof and wages barely moving, we're now being told that even if we wanted to build, we might not be able to.
This isn't just poor planning – it's State failure. The Greater Dublin Drainage project has been talked about for over two decades. In that time, entire cities have been built elsewhere. Here, we can't even get past the paperwork.
People are running out of patience. You can't keep telling families to wait while the cost of living climbs and the promise of a home drifts further out of reach. Scarcity like this – when it's avoidable and clearly political doesn't just fuel frustration. It risks something deeper: a loss of faith in the system itself.
If we don't get serious about delivery, don't be surprised when the politics start to get serious too. –Yours, etc,
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GAVIN REDDIN,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Not a day goes by without mention of Ireland's housing crisis – yet it only seems to get worse. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that our politicians either lack the will or the ability to fix it.
I have some sympathy for them, because any meaningful solution would probably mean reducing the paper value of what many homeowners believe is their greatest asset. (I'll leave it to the economists and philosophers to explain the difference between cost and value.)
Perhaps I can help by going back to first principles.
What is a house?
Well, in Ireland – much like Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's, 'Through the Looking Glass' - a house is whatever the planning officers say it is. And what they say it is will typically cost you €500,000 or more, and probably won't look very interesting.
But here's the thing: it's not actually that difficult to build a perfectly good home for a fraction of that price. The problem is, such a home wouldn't satisfy the planning department's arbitrary rules and definitions.
So what if we changed their job?
What if the planning authorities stopped defining what a house must be, and instead focused on planning the services – the roads, water, power, waste, broadband – that are needed wherever people choose to live?
Let the buyer decide what kind of house they want, and what they can afford.
As for how to appease current homeowners who are worried about falling values ¨– I don't know.
But I do know that there's an entire generation coming up that doesn't give a damn about propping up old property values.
They just want somewhere to live. – Yours, etc,
JOHN HOLSTEAD,
Ventry,
Co. Kerry
Public spending and fiscal policy
Sir, – The Central Bank's call for the exchequer to
'anchor'
fiscal policy is probably long overdue (Saturday May 24th): Public expenditure has continued to exceed budgetary limits and targets, mainly as a result of an increase in current, and mainly recurring, expenditure, which taxpayers will be asked to finance in the event of a downturn. Meanwhile, investment in upgrading key infrastructure lags, not to mention housing.
The Universal Social Charge (USC), introduced 17 years ago as a temporary measure, continues to levy incomes when the emergency it was designed to fund is long over.
The disposition of nearly all parties to find new or increased expenditure programmes just because the exchequer is in surplus, has to stop.
Instead what is needed is a root and branch review of existing expenditures to improve efficiency and eliminate waste. – Yours, etc,
JOE LENIHAN,
Collins Avenue,
Dublin.
On your bike
Sir, – Joe Humphreys in his 'Unthinkable' piece (
'Cyclists versus drivers: How to avoid road rage ' May 26th)
suggests that 'taking a Zen approach could help motorists and cyclists to be less judgemental about each other' .
All very well , however whilst cycling recently I was almost meeting my maker by a large SUV more suitable for the rocky mountains than suburban Dublin .
As a cyclist I can assure your columnist there is no 'moral superiority ' merely the will to avoid injury or death on the roads .
Sometimes rage is the only appropriate response. – Yours, etc,
MIKE MORAN,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – Joe Humphries' article on the dangers of cyclists feeling morally superior to cars had the worthy aim of increasing mutual respect on roads, but he missed something. He didn't mention those who are neither in cars nor on bicycles.
As a walker I rarely have a problem with cars; they mostly stay off pavements, stop at red lights and respect crossings. In contrast, cyclists often ignore all three with impunity, which is why pedestrians can no longer amble along the pavement in a relaxed fashion or trust the green man to provide a safe crossing.
No doubt Humphries is the sort of responsible rider who stays off the pavement and always obeys traffic lights – in which case, well done he – but many cyclists don't obey the rules of the road, which is why pedestrians sometimes feel less affection for cyclists than they otherwise might. – Yours, etc,
DAVID HARRIS,
Coptic St,
London.
Joe Humphreys admits that as a cyclist, he sometimes experiences a sense of moral superiority . As a pedestrian of many years standing, I wonder if that superiority also applies to the cohort that cycle on footpaths?
My most recent episode involved having to give way to a female cyclist on a footpath which ironically is parallel to a dedicated cycle lane. You couldn't make it up! –Yours, etc,
FRANK J BYRNE,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.
Inaction
on Gaza
Sir, –Una Mullally has accurately and eloquently identified 'the hypocrisy that drives people stone mad' when it comes to 'the lack of a concerted international effort to stop what Israel is doing in Gaza'
(Why are Kneecap facing consequences when Israel is not?
May 26th).
But what if there is an even more uncomfortable explanation for such hypocrisy and inaction?
What if the governments of European 'democracies' are actually complicit in Israel's alleged crimes?
Israel enjoys privileged access to European markets under the EU-Israel Association Agreement (1995). Article Two of this Agreement renders its provisions dependent on 'respect for human rights and democratic principles', a respect long absent from Israel's treatment of Palestinians within Israel itself and in the territories that it occupies.
The illegality of this occupation was reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.
The EU has consistently resisted calls for the suspension of the Agreement, while certain European countries (Germany, Italy, Britain) have continued to export arms to Israel since the onset of its current campaign against Gaza.
The Irish Government has turned a blind eye to the transit of arms to Israel through Irish airspace, allows the USAir Force to use Shannon Airport in furtherance of American support for Israel, and has failed to stop the Central Bank from selling Israeli war bonds across the EU.
If European governments are truly complicit in Israel's alleged crimes while the majority of their citizens oppose them, this raises questions about the genuineness of what Michael McDowell has recently called 'Europe's model of enlightened liberal democracy'. Surely we cannot afford to leave such questions unanswered? – Yours, etc,
RAYMOND DEANE,
Primrose Avenue,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – Last weeks's statements of concern about Gaza, from some world powers and the EU are welcome. However, they do not lessen the impetus to enact Ireland's Occupied Territories Bill (OTB).
The list of powerful nations included all the major external suppliers of bombs and weaponry used on Gaza's devastated territory. Each has already had the option of withholding supplies or using them as a lever for a ceasefire.
In reality, mighty nations and power blocs are often bound by commercial and strategic interests, or alliances that can override the inhumanity of bombing starving children. Smaller countries can be less compromised.
Against the background of a broken world order, the Tanaiste Simon Harris's commitment to, at last, enact the OTB offers hope.
Properly enacted, it will be a peaceful but practical counterbalance for less powerful countries to employ.
It focuses on objective illegality, rather than imposing blanket boycotts. Thus it will not involve blameless Israelis or citizens of other countries where the OTB might be deployed.
The Occupied Territories Bill (2018), as proposed b y Senator Frances Black reads as a moderate. cohesive whole. Re-drafting, or even tinkering to placate, could render it ineffective. It has a potential to sanction any illegally occupied territory in the world. It is vital that this remains in the Bill, in a disordered world, where UN motions are ignored or vetoed, with impunity.
The delaying of the OTB, over a five-year period when it offered a potential for peace in Palestine and Israel, is a matter of profound regret.
This must not be compounded by further unnecessary delay or revision of its impact. – Yours etc
PHILIP POWELL,
Dublin.
A bridge
too far
Sir, – David Raleigh ('Decades of 'daily frustration' over traffic end as Killaloe-Ballina bridge opens, May 23rd) notes that decades of frustration due to traffic congestion ended on May 22nd due to the opening of the new Brian Boru bridge over the river Shannon.
He omits to mention the frustration that the official opening generated. At one o'clock on May 22nd it was announced that the bridge was open. Some of us were gullible enough to believe that this meant open to traffic. However, this did not happen until 5.30 pm.
Ironically, the tailback on the approach road to the old bridge was three or four times its normal length while the politicians and those who were officially invited were congratulating themselves on the new bridge which was cordoned off on both sides. It was an exercise in political arrogance and hardly an example of bridge building. – Yours etc
MARGARET LEE.
Co Tipperary
Not united on Man United
Sir – Michael Walker's excellent piece on just how bad things are at Old Trafford ('Once people were desperate to join United; now United are just desperate', Sport, May 24th) made for sobering reading for the many Red Devils fans here. Yet, a powerful punch was pulled by not mentioning Scott McTominay.
The poor judgment of letting the talismanic Scotsman go last summer should be reframed as outright lunacy after his key role in Napoli winning the Serie A title this term.
He scored a dozen goals (no United player got into double figures in this season's Premier League) and was voted Serie A's MVP (Most Valuable Player). Shame on the United decision makers. –Yours etc
BRIAN QUIGLEY,
Dublin 9.
Drowning
the oceans
Sir, – Last week I went to David Attenborough's latest film: Ocean. In my opinion, this film is vital viewing for us all as it reveals a level of marine/ oceanic destruction beyond anything the general public currently conceive.
It highlights the immense contribution the ocean and its life make in the capture of carbon, and the production of oxygen, as well as providing food in this highly complex and extraordinary ecosystem.
It shows clearly how our industrialised fishing and the methods this uses is contributing more to global warming and destruction of our planet than much of what we are doing on land.
The film portrays the stark reality of the impact of our current highly industrialised fishing industry on our oceans and seas– throughout the globe including the deep seas and Antarctic areas which previously had been less exploited.
It shows mega bottom trawlers drawing vast metal chain or beam based nets along the floors of the oceans. These sweep everything in their track into their nets in this dredging process.
As the metal based nets work their way across the oceans' floors, metal claws dig into the oceans' beds, breaking their surfaces to extract as much as can be taken, regardless of whether what is dredged up will later be deemed marketable.
It seems to be the crudest, most wasteful, and most destructive form of fishing imaginable. On land, these practices currently being conducted throughout our global marine waters might be compared to a legitimised and approved scorched earth policy.
This type of fishing doesn't make sense as it is the antithesis of sustainable practice. The film tells us that currently approximately 3 per cent of the world's oceans are being preserved from exploitation. This is not adequate to save our oceans or ourselves.
The film has been released in preparation for the UN's World Oceans Day in June which is campaigning for 30 per cent of the world's oceans to be preserved from exploitation.
It seems to me that supporting this campaign and taking action to realise this level of preservation of our waters, is not only good for all on this earth, but on the most basic level supports human self-interest.
I hope that we as an island nation play our part in the realisation of this goal. – Yours, etc,
MARY O'BRIEN,
College Road,
Galway.
Trump's tariffs
Sir, – Donald Trump's extended tariff deadlines are almost as numerous as BAM's completion deadlines for the new national children's hospital. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dublin.
Retail regeneration
Sir, – As I walked through my local town-well, technically, Armagh is a city – I was struck by the sheer number of charity shops, hairdressers, and coffee outlets now dominating its streets. This isn't unique to Armagh; towns across the UK and Ireland are following the same dispiriting pattern. Meanwhile, traditional businesses like butchers, grocers, and independent pubs are quietly disappearing from our high streets.
We must act to arrest this drift towards commercial monoculture. Local authorities could offer grants to improve shopfronts, providing incentives for entrepreneurs to take over vacant premises, and investing in broader streetscape revitalisation.
They might also consider planning restrictions to prevent over-concentration of similar business types.
A town centre should serve as the beating heart of commerce and community – not merely a corridor of caffeine and coiffure.
Without intervention, we risk losing the diverse, vibrant high streets that make our towns distinctive and genuinely useful to residents. - Yours, etc,
ENDA CULLEN,
Armagh.