Sir, - On my way to and from Sligo recently, I noted a new road development beside Ballinafid lake outside Mullingar, Co Westmeath. This lake is popular with fishermen and is very much a local beauty spot. More importantly however, it is a breeding site for a scarce species of dragonfly, namely the Hairy Hawker Brachytron pratense. This species is in serious decline both in Britain and mainland Europe. Other dragonfly species found at this small lake include the Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata and good numbers of various species of damselfly, not to mention other insects such as butterflies and birdlife.
This new road, considerably closer to the lake, is a serious encroachment on the integrity of the habitat and its wildlife, not to mention the noise pollution and fumes from passing traffic. I cannot see why the existing road could not have been upgraded as it is not a particularly bad stretch of road. This insensitive and unnecessary road development is a sad reflection on local planning and administration. It appears to be simply a bad excuse to extract even more in the way of EU structural funding. - Yours, etc., Peter Doyle,
Beechwood Lawn, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.