Letters to the Editor, May 1st: On phone etiquette, shingles vaccinations and housing in the Gaeltacht

Irish Times

01-05-2025

Selfies at the pope's funeral
Sir, – Fintan O'Toole asks a provocative and profound question 'is nothing sacred' while reflecting on the funeral of
Pope Francis
('
Is nothing sacred, even at a pope's funeral?
', Opinion, April 29th). The present-day practice of staying 'connected' during every experience such as birth, death, success and failure reveals how life has changed and priorities are being redefined with the desire for selfies.
It was recently highlighted to me that during the Masters golf tournament a no-phones rule was strictly implemented. When
Rory McIlroy
fell to his knees with joy at the success of reaching his ultimate goal, those lucky thousands present had that experience imprinted in their memory with a notable absence of phones.
Compare this behaviour (as Mr O'Toole highlighted) at the solemnity of the papal requiem where, not only was there an absence of respect, the cheerleaders were priests who should have known better.
There is an urgent need for more phone etiquette especially in public places. The ongoing dramas, loud conversation and sometimes abuse played out with one-sided conversations and video recordings experienced daily in the most 'open' public places can be shocking and inappropriate at times.
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Maeve Binchy openly confessed to earwigging to research her novels. As a nation we encourage talking and sharing at the kitchen table or the public house, however there is a time and place for appropriate recording in the moment or, as Mr O'Toole highlighted, the 'present' will be lost. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS MORRIS GORMALLY,
Rathangan,
Co Kildare.
A chara, – I enjoyed Fintan O'Toole's opinion piece on the pope's funeral. As a point of pedantry, however, the two men 'capturing' the moment are deacons, not priests.
Any amateur sacerdotal ornithographer will recognise a deacon by their wearing the stole as a sash, whereas a priest wears it draped over both shoulders. – Yours, etc,
LIAM TOEBES.
Dublin 1.
Shingles vaccinations
Sir, – A recent article by Sylvia Thompson and correspondence regarding shingles vaccination has left me rather dismayed (''
We are able to say much more confidently that the shingles vaccine causes a reduction in dementia risk
'', Health, April 30th;
Letters
, April 24th).
The policy of charging hundreds of euro for the vaccine is in contrast to our nearest neighbours who, despite the delicate state of the NHS, have arranged free shingles vaccination for all over 65.
Providing a free shingles vaccine to older people would cost the State millions of euro, but this has to be offset against the cost to the State of the considerable and often prolonged morbidity incurred by many who contract the disease.
It is now known that flu, Covid and shingles vaccines also provide a small but significant protective effect against developing dementia, a condition that costs the State billions. Surely it is worth rethinking the HSE policy? Preventive measures do come with a cost, but the long-term savings are immense. – Yours, etc,
JOANNA MULVEY,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Big business and research
Sir, – Peter McGuire's article on the influence of big business on the research carried out in universities and other third-level institutions, raises further questions ('
Irish universities take millions of euro from big business. Are they too close for comfort
?', Education, April 29th). The influence of major financial institutions and law firms on economics, business and law courses also needs to be considered.
Ireland's success as a major international tax haven is in part fuelled by the endless supply of graduates to these firms. Who influences the ethical dimensions of these courses? Some of the untaxed billions that flow through Ireland come from much poorer countries and reduce their tax base to fund hospitals, schools and housing. Minimal research has been carried out on this shameful activity. – Yours, etc,
PAUL CONNOLLY,
Cavan.
Trade deal with Canada
Sir, – Vincent Carroll suggests that Ireland is the only EU member state not to have endorsed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) between the EU and Canada (
Letters
, April 30th). This is incorrect.
While the agreement has been provisionally in force since 2017 across the EU, it has not been fully ratified by at least 10 EU countries, including France, Italy and Poland, according to the Council of the European Union's official record (
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part – Consilium
). Ireland is far from isolated in its cautious approach.
Ireland's Supreme Court, in its judgment on the case brought by former Green Party TD Patrick Costello, found that ratification of Ceta would be unconstitutional without legislative reform, as it would transfer aspects of judicial power beyond the reach of the Irish courts. This isn't a trivial technicality – it goes to the core of parliamentary sovereignty and democratic oversight of international trade.
The Green Party is in favour of open, rules-based international trade and recognises Canada as a valuable and long-standing partner, but the integrity of our Constitution and our legal system cannot be casually set aside in the name of diplomacy.
It is possible to support Canada and take the time to ensure that trade deals like Ceta are fit for purpose in a modern European democracy. That support must not come at the cost of democratic oversight and constitutional principle. – Yours, etc,
Cllr ROBERT JONES,
Green Party spokesman for enterprise, tourism and employment,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
Protestant secondary schools
Sir, – Permit me to correct Prof Brian M Walker on his assertion that Protestants must pay for secondary schooling within their faith tradition in the Republic (
Letters
, April 29th).
While it is true that until recently some Protestant secondary schools were fee-paying, nowadays Protestant secondary schools are treated like any other secondary school as regards funding and many have abolished their fees, including St Patrick's Cathedral Grammar School, Kilkenny College and Wilson's Hospital School. Other Protestant ethos schools such as the comprehensives – Mount Temple, Newpark (Dublin) and the Royal and Prior (Donegal) and Ashton (Cork), East Glendalough (Wicklow) as well as Temple Carrig in Greystones – have been free since their inception. – Yours, etc,
VICTORIA WHITE,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.
Holiday homes in the Gaeltacht
Sir, – Dr Lorcan Sirr bemoans the lack of housing options for Irish speakers in our Gaeltacht areas ('
Airbnb landlords and holiday homeowners are squeezing native speakers out of Gaeltacht area
s', Opinion, April 26th).
I was born and raised in the Southwest Donegal Gaeltacht between the parishes of Kilcar and Glencolmcille. It is a beautiful part of the country but, alas, good jobs are few and far between. Many people (like my wife and I) end up leaving for better opportunities further afield.
Dr Sirr is critical of the number of holiday homes and short-term rentals in Gaeltacht regions and he is quite correct to highlight this issue. However, I would doubt the majority of what are now being used as second homes or Airbnbs were originally granted planning on that basis.
Many planning applications since 2000 have been subject to Section 47 rules, whereby applicants, usually locals, agree to live in the dwelling for at least seven years before it can be sold on.
However, Section 47 rules are rarely enforced.
I would wager that many of the holiday homes built in Gaeltacht areas over the last 25 years were ostensibly given planning permission as 'family homes', only to be sold on to well-heeled folks from the east coast or Northern Ireland as rural getaways.
The failure to properly implement basic planning laws continues to have a devastating effect on rural Ireland in general and Gaeltacht areas in particular. – Is mise le meas,
PADRAIG O'SEARCAIGH,
Cillin Chaoimhin,
Contae Chill Mhantain.
Climate costs of tourism
Sir, – Your correspondent Mark Godfrey gives pause for thought, particularly when he states: 'It would be great to see climate questions appear in articles whose main topic is not necessarily climate change' (
Letters
, April 29th). This should be essential, in respect of newspaper articles and other publications in this climate emergency that we have created.
An article (or an advertisement) concerning holidays in a far-off location, for example, will invariably include the price of such a holiday, to inform the reader.
But surely the reader, or potential holidaymaker, should also be informed of the price in terms of global emissions of such a holiday.
For instance, a family of two parents and two children considering a round trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida should have it spelt out to them that their journey (in terms of flights only) will involve planet Earth too in paying a 'price' – in this case somewhere between an extra six to eight tonnes of CO2 into its atmosphere or about the average annual emissions of a person living in many developing countries. When they go to a restaurant the menu should point out matters such as the average 'price' of the various dishes in terms of emissions – ie beef (5-10kg), fish (1.5-3.5kg) or vegetarian (0.5-2kg). Tastes might change!
The reason wealthier travellers persist in producing disproportionate emissions is because they don't know or they don't care. Some focused publicity or health warnings would at least ensure that they know. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O'SHEA
Shankill,
Dublin.
Housing tsar initiative
Sir, – I fully agree with the sentiments expressed by Jim O' Sullivan on the proposed Strategic Housing Activation Office (
Letters
, April 30th). What will a 'housing tsar' be able to do that a Minister and his many staff currently cannot?
The media must question Government members on this question until a satisfactory response is provided or the 'initiative' is terminated. – Yours, etc,
PÁDRAIG KIERNAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16
A day for school principals
Sir, – May 1st is National School Principals' Day, a moment to honour those who, against all odds and inspection reports, steer our schools through storms of timetables, tantrums and term-time policies.
Fittingly, it also happens to be the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, patron of carpenters, labourers and, I presume, anyone who's ever tried to get a group of teenagers to sit down and listen.
Though having been a principal myself, I must confess that while the saint might have had divine patience, he never had to do lunch duty on a wet Thursday. – Yours, etc,
ENDA CULLEN,
Former principal, St Joseph's Grammar School,
Armagh.
Anti-Trump sentiment
Sir, – Has one conservative leader caused another conservative leader to lose an election? It certainly seems so with the Canadian elections where the conservatives were recently expected to win but the anti-Trump sentiment changed that.
The farcical suggestion of making Canada the 51st US state is probably just a distraction from more serious issues but has upset so many people as it seriously devalues Canada as a proud independent country.
The world needs to be wary of loud voices. – Yours, etc,
DENNIS FITZGERALD,
Melbourne,
Australia.
Comparing papal visits
Sir, – It has been noted in recent commentary on papal visits to Ireland that the attendance at the visit of Pope Francis in 2018 was way below the attendance at the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979. While it is clear that the Ireland of 2018 was a greatly different place to the Ireland of 1979, the point that has been omitted in this comparison is that the arrangements for people attending the 2018 papal Mass were difficult for many people.
As I recall, there was effectively no transport from the Phoenix Park entrances to the Mass site so people had to walk hundreds of metres, onerous enough for fit and young people but a significant deterrent for senior citizens and others with limited mobility. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL WALSH,
Dublin 3.
Responsible drinking
Sir, To liver specialists, especially your correspondent Frank Murray, the down sides of imbibing alcohol to excess are all too obvious ('
Should plans to put cancer warning labels on alcohol go ahead? A doctor and a wine expert debate
', Opinion, April 29th). A spinal expert might similarly argue for the abolition of the scrum in rugby.
Yet as I enjoy a beer in my sun-filled back garden, I reflect that drinking alcohol when appropriate and playing rugby yield many joys. Let's educate people to the dangers and let them make their own choices. – Yours, etc,
Art McGann,
Clontarf,
Dublin.
More cuckoos
Sir, – I am delighted to announce that Roscommon have a first win over Galway as we enter Championship season.
I heard the cuckoo in Fairymount, the highest point in Roscommon, on Monday at 1.50pm, a day earlier than your Galway reader (Letters, April 30th) . – Yours, etc,
MAIRÉAD CASHMAN,
Salthill,
Galway.
Sir, – The cuckoo sang in Shower Bog, Newport on April 28th. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET LEE,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.