Sir, – “The Irish Times view on the Dáil row: an embarrassing spectacle” (March 25th) states that, “While it protests, the Government did pull a stroke by trying to come up with speaking time arrangements favourable to the Rural Independents.”
In its closing paragraph, the same editorial concludes, “A line now needs to be drawn under this.”
Given the editorial is clearly built on the foundation that a “stroke” has been pulled, surely the most obvious conclusion would be that the Government should un-stroke (de-stroke?) matters.
To quote Dominic in The Banshees of Inisherin, “Well there goes that dream.” – Yours, etc,
Appealing a decision on the cost of UK national insurance
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How the two-income mortgage marked a turning point in Irish family life
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JONATHAN FARRAR,
Abbeyshrule,
Co Longford.
Sir, – The seven TDs required for Verona Murphy’s nomination as Ceann Comhairle all came from the group of Regional Independents, who are not registered with the Electoral Commission as a political party. In the UK, nominations for Speaker of the House of Commons must come from at least 12 MPs, at least three of whom must be from a different political party to the candidate.
Had this multiparty requirement been a feature of the process for nominating the Ceann Comhairle, the two registered political parties who benefited from Ms Murphy’s nomination would have at least been forced to show their hand in advance by putting up some TDs to nominate her. Instead, we got the proverbial smoke and daggers deal, except now the daggers are out. They only have themselves to blame. – Yours, etc,
JOHN GANNON,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – The origin of the two-finger insult goes back to the English taunting the French at the Battle of Agincourt, indicating that they still had those two fingers intact, fingers necessary for the use of their long bow. 1415. That’s a long time to be aping the English! I hope Mr Lowry can abbreviate his gestures in the future and give the world one finger which was popular in ancient Greek comedy. – Yours, etc,
GABRIEL ROSENSTOCK,
Baile na Manach,
Co Átha Cliath.
A chara, – It seems to me that Michael Lowry gave the two fingers to fair play in this country a long time ago. – Yours, etc,
NUALA CANAVAN,
Dublin 24.
Sir, – Since there is little or no actual work being done in Leinster House, should a salary suspension be called for? This would help to concentrate minds. Would it meet “opposition” on both sides of the House? But then, we seem to have arrived at that situation already. – Yours, etc,
PETER DECLAN O’HALLORAN,
Belturbet,
Co Cavan.
A chara, – On foot of the recent shenanigans, James H Milliken (Letters, March 27th) suggests an hour on the naughty step, in silence, outside Dáil Éireann? He should be careful what he wishes for; a new naughty step may be commissioned, at the usual ruinous cost. – Is mise,
TERRY WALSH,
Murcia,
Spain.
Sir, – Several of your correspondents, including your columnist Stephen Collins (“Micheál Martin has finally shown his backbone. He’s going to need it”, Opinion & Analysis, March 7th), have supported the Government’s position on the recent speaking rights row. But how would your columnist and others feel if the shoe was on the other foot?
Imagine, for a moment, if Sinn Féin had cobbled together a coalition with other left-wing parties and far-left TDs after the last election.
Imagine then that this Sinn Féin-led Government had openly used the position of Ceann Comhairle (a supposedly independent constitutional office) as a bargaining chip during coalition talks and then, arm-in-arm with the new holder of that office, rammed through an unprecedented rule change which allowed a small group of far-left TDs to speak during opposition time while supporting their government.
What would the reaction have been to such developments?
Far from dismissing it as a non-issue, I strongly suspect that Stephen Collins would issue grave warnings that the proposals were a dangerous erosion of our representative democracy.
If events in the United States have taught us anything in recent years, it’s that attempts by a ruling administration to diminish or silence the voices of their opponents will only lead to those opponents responding in kind when they are elected to office themselves, leading to a downward spiral of political accountability.
The standards of legislative debate and scrutiny of the Government within the Oireachtas are already an embarrassment by international standards, so it is extraordinary that measures which will worsen that situation enjoy so much support among the political class and commentariat. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – It doesn’t surprise anybody that Sinn Féin will continue to try and scupper Dáil procedures for the next five years.
However, Labour and Social Democrats have a responsibility to stand on their own mandates and not get caught up in Sinn Féin’s agenda. – Yours, etc,
MARY BARRETT,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – With the aid of my political theodolite, I surveyed recently Leinster House and its environs and can report that the place is devoid of anything resembling a moral high ground. – Yours, etc,
BILL GRIMSON,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Micheál Martin has often been described as a safe pair of hands.
Hardly applicable now, having let Michael Lowry slip through them. – Yours, etc,
JOHN CORRIGAN,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
City-regions and urban planning
Sir, – I was delighted to read Michael McDowell’s article on the need for a revolution in government thinking in relation to positive urban planning in our cities (“No European city would tolerate the decay and dereliction visible in Dublin”, Opinion & Analysis, March 27th).
To build on his points, let’s consider what’s holding us back.
First, there are just two Government TDs representing Dublin central, 1 per cent of all TDs. The rest being three Sinn Féin, two Social Democrat and one Labour, so it’s almost like the national government is in opposition in Dublin city!
Second, the low level of representation for Dublin city within government is made worse by our centralised decision-making systems.
Third, the planning system doesn’t seem to “enable” development. Rather than proactively guiding what can be built, it seems to wait for speculative submissions from developers which will be approved or rejected.
However, there are solutions. In the 2024 book Irish Cities in Crisis, the authors created a visual map of Ireland segmented into a series of city-regions.
Just as Munich is the capital of Bavaria, Innsbruck is the capital of Tirol and Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, Dublin would be the capital of the Eastern region, Cork becomes the capital of the South West region, etc.
But how does a city-region approach work to solve our systemic issues? To help fix the representation issue, the authors propose we create a new regional layer of governance that sits below the national parliament, and above the county council level. This comprises of elected regional parliaments, an elected governor for each region, and an elected mayor for the capital city of each region.
In relation to decision-making, the authors suggest we copy our continental neighbours and encourage central government to delegate budgeting, planning and some taxation to the city-regions. In this way, they have autonomy to make decisions, while still being accountable to national government.
Finally, to facilitate development, as Michael McDowell rightly points out, there is a need for forward planning. According to the authors of Irish Cities in Crisis, best practice would be that city-region planners create 3D models to show what “can” be built on land parcels, instead of paper-based maps.
Hence, instead of a developer second-guessing what the regional planning authority “might” approve and giving it a lash, as John McManus recently observed (“Time to do a Trump on the planning process?”, Business, Opinion, March 26th), the planning authority creates cohesive 3D models, using feedback from the local community and other stakeholders, and says: this is what you can build here.
As in other countries, if a developer submits a plan that matches what the authority says can be built, it gets automatically approved. If they submit something different to what the authority says can be built, then it goes through the current system of approvals. In Ireland we are not renowned for our cities; when you think of France, you might think of Paris, or if you think of Italy, Rome comes to mind. When you imagine Ireland, you probably think of Connemara. However, as we grow larger as a country, we should look towards building bigger, better planned cities to achieve sustainable growth.
A revolution in government thinking is needed, and city-regions have a huge role to play here. – Yours, etc,
CATHAL MELINN,
Whitehall,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – Why is no one saying that if developers and their architects and planners proposed quality developments that were in line with many of the very good guidelines and policies we have, then there would be fewer objections and less opportunities to judicially review decisions?
I’ve heard it said more than once that we can’t expect perfection in this crisis but that’s ridiculous as urban design will set our way of living for hundreds of years. It is known how to produce attractive, walkable, livable, high-density communities: there are some good examples but too often that’s not what we’re offered and why we object. – Yours, etc,
JUDY OSBORNE,
Wicklow.
Sir, – Michael McDowell calls for an increase in the supply of serviced land for building through new measures, such as improved compulsory purchase. One such measure was actually proposed 50 years ago by the Kenny Report.
The report to the Minister for Local Government on the Price of Building Land (1974), chaired by Justice Kenny, looked at possible measures to control the cost of building land for development. The report examined how the increase in the value of land attributable to public infrastructure could be captured for the community. The aim of the report was to advise what changes in the law at the time would be necessary.
The report found that there had been a remarkable increase in the prices paid for serviced land in urban areas. Much of this increase in value came about because of services introduced by local authorities. Actions needed to be undertaken to stabilise the price of building land, the report argued.
The report found that the acquisition of land by local authorities for resale to builders or to ultimate purchasers could help to stabilise the price of land.
The report proposed a system of “designated areas”. The High Court should be empowered to designate areas where land would probably be used for development in the next 10 years and where the land had increased in market price due to the actions of the local authority. In these cases, the local authority would be empowered to acquire land in the designated area within the next 10 years at existing use value plus 25 per cent.
The Kenny Report provided an imaginative solution to the problem of the supply of development land integrated with the constitutional protection for private property. But it was never implemented.
The Kenny Report needs to be revisited in the modern context. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CALLANAN,
Limerick.
Clocks, time and family life
Sir, – This weekend brings the annual confusion of the clocks springing forward, robbing us of an hour’s sleep and ensuring that at least one household appliance will display the wrong time until October. My mother always bemoaned this particular time change, not just for the lost hour itself, but because it unsettled her well-ordered world. She saw no good reason for it – nor, indeed, for many of life’s other disruptions – and viewed it as yet another example of unnecessary interference from on high.
It seems fitting that this upheaval coincides with Mother’s Day. If she were still here, she’d shake her head, sigh at the foolishness of it all, and carry on as if nothing had happened – while we remained happy and secure in the knowledge that the real measure of time was her good sense. - Yours, etc,
ENDA CULLEN,
Armagh.
Trump and a long time in politics
Sir, – I thank Donnacha Kavanagh for his response to my letter (Letters, March 26th) and for his suggestion that a stopped clock displays the correct time 2,924 times during a US presidential term (Letters, March 27th).
I should also thank my late father. When an error he had made on a shop sign was brought to his attention, he would give a wink, smile and say, “It’s all about attracting the customer’s attention.” – Yours, etc,
PAUL REARDON,
Dublin 9.
A Signal failure of intelligence
Sir, – We are told that Five Eyes is the name given to an intelligence sharing arrangement the US has with its allies.
In view of the recent revelations on Signal, perhaps the name should be changed to Four Eyes and a Mouth.– Yours, etc,
KEVIN DEVINE,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
