Sir, - As a recent teenage immigrant to Ireland from Canada I was very much relieved and reassured by Maureen Barry's letter (August 11th). It was comforting to know that someone else feels action is needed against the barrage of paper, plastic, glass and even soiled diapers I have found on roads, in the fields and on beaches since our arrival in Ireland a few days ago. Not only the litter but the disgusting air quality is a shock from the standards I had come to expect in Canada.
Simple recycling programmes in homes and schools, and also the regular testing of car emissions, could alleviate a great deal of the problems.
At the moment my family is staying in Brittas Bay but its breathtaking beach is marred by all the litter. My younger sister and I, armed with plastic bags, set out to do something about it. Within a few paces we had several bags of garbage - and a laughing group of onlookers mocking our efforts. This ignorance and lack of awareness at an alarming situation angers and frustrates me. I hope that change is on the horizon, not only for my sake, but for the future of this island, which in my eyes, is rapidly looking less green. - Yours, etc., Emma Fitzgerald,
Brittas Bay Village, Co Wicklow.