Sir, - The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, along with Ministers McCreevy and McDaid, are to be congratulated on their vision in embracing the idea of a stadium for 80,000 people as a millennium project.
I was particularly struck by the part of the Taoiseach's statement which read that, while the project would probably run to several hundreds of millions of pounds, money would not be the problem. The problem would be to get the national sporting organisations together.
It is indeed the stuff of dreams, noble dreams of sporting excellence.
We in MRCS also deal in the stuff of dreams. These are the dreams people have of long, happy relationships in which they can rear their children in tranquillity and stability. Sadly, these dreams are coming under threat in a rapidly changing world of rising divorce and separation rates which are contributing to increased social unrest, with particular problems being experienced by young people who are suffering the effects of their parents' marital breakdown.
There is convincing evidence that education and skills training in relationships and early resort to counselling services, when necessary, can all help to defray the horrendous cost in human misery and indeed in money.
We in MRCS wish to commend our millennium project to you and your readers. We propose a centre for relationships which would encompass all aspects of relationship education, skills training and counselling services for everybody who needs them.
This flagship centre would offer a 24-hour relationship help-line with counselling services on offer seven days a week, 12 hours a day, available to all who need them regardless of their ability to pay.
The cost? Not hundreds of millions of pounds but £2.8 million. Admittedly, this is £1.2 million above the Budget allocation to the hundred organisations such as ours. But you must agree that in the context of the foregoing it will not be too high a price to pay for a major national facility that could make remarkable inroads into serving the relationship needs of the people of this nation.
In this case, the money is the problem. - Yours, etc., Ruth Barror,
Chief Executive,
Marriage and Relationship Counselling Services,
24 Grafton Street,
Dublin 2.