Sir, - I share the views of recent correspondents regarding the tide of litter that is engulfing Dublin. However, this is not merely a problem for Dublin. It would be difficult to find a stretch of roadway in the country that does not have its inevitable quota of discarded tins, plastic bags, plastic bottles and of course, on any adjacent fencing, the streaming remains of black plastic silage bags.
Mr D.J. Hanley (March 26th) referred to Mr Noel Dempsey's pre-election promise to tax plastic bags. Presumably this promise arose from concerns expressed by voters about the polluting effects of plastic bags. Once elected, far from acting on his promise, Mr Dempsey seems to have suffered a massive memory loss because he found it necessary to commission a study to "examine the use of plastic bags and their impact on the environment". I wrote to Mr Dempsey on August 20th asking what was the justification for this study. I am still waiting for a reply.
I have come to the conclusion that it is pointless to expect any action from the Department of the Environment. The drafting of anti-litter legislation and getting it onto the statute books seems to be considered by the Minister and his officials as a satisfying intellectual exercise which has no bearing on the real world. The fact that the laws and regulations are ignored both by the citizens and the authorities does not appear to bother them in the least. When queried about the failure to enact the legislation, the Department will reply that implementation is a matter for the relevant local authorities and is "not the day-today responsibility of the Minister".
If the Minister cannot get the local authorities to act, who can? - Yours, etc.
Mairin Herman, Meadow Grove, Dublin 16.