Madam, - Paul Farrell (December 20th) calls for a proper debate on the future of Dublin Port and the bay amenities to take place. I would like to point out that this debate has been going on since July 1972. In that year the Dublin Port Company published a proposal for reclaiming 2,870 acres of Dublin bay, filling in the bay from Clontarf to Sandymount. The internationally known town planner Prof Geofrey Copcutt said that this was a corruption of the environment.
In the intervening years, the port company has made various applications to fill in 94 acres, 52 acres, etc. These attempts were thwarted by the objections of thousands of people around the bay and the petitions put to various Ministers.
The PD proposal to support the Drogheda Port Company's deep-water development at Bremore has much to recommend it, not least the way in which it would relieve Dublin's traffic congestion.
This project would require a Government decision. I am hoping Fianna Fáil will support its partner's proposal. - Yours, etc,
SEAN DUBLIN BAY LOFTUS, Seafield Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.