Madam,- I must have missed The Irish Times the day the Government's announcement of €1.5 million for skateboarding facilities was announced. So many thanks to David Marlborough (February 28th) for letting me know about it. Now, there's the way to combat childhood obesity and keep them off the dreaded hospital trolley in their old age.
Unfortunately, cranks have managed to stymie all the kids' efforts to skateboard on any available flat surface which is why the Government has to spend money on purpose-built skateboarding areas.
God be with the days when children could engage in outdoor pursuits without being hounded by those looking for a reason to be offended about something or other. - Yours, etc.,
BERNIE O'CONNELL, Clontarf Road, Dublin 3.
Madam, - David Marlborough implies that spending taxpayers' money on skateboarding facilities for young people is a waste.
I suggest much more money be spent on such facilities, as well as on swimming pools, athletics tracks and tennis courts. This would, as has been proven in France, shorten queues for obesity clinics, psychiatric clinics and, in the longer term, cardiac clinics.
I suggest that instead of taxpayers' money being used, developers such as Castlethorn, which is building Dundrum's new shopping centre, should contribute one such facility per development for use by the local community.- Yours, etc.,
ANNE-MARIE FEENEY, Mutton Lane, Tibradden, Dublin 16.