Sir, – The Irish Land League was founded over 140 years ago by Parnell, Davitt and others with the main aims of bringing about a reduction of rack rents and the obtaining of the ownership of the land by its tenants.
It is depressing to note that a century after the foundation of our State the need for a Land League seems to be as imperative as it was in 1879.
If our State could build tens of thousands of homes for its people in the first few precarious decades of its existence, why the hell cannot a vastly richer State do the same now ?
All we get is endless waffle from the comfortably-off and well-housed people in Leinster House. There seems to be a complete lack of political vision and will to actually do something. Excuse after excuse and nothing but band-aid legislation and more waffle.
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Where are Parnell and Davitt when we need them? Turning in their graves I imagine. – Yours, etc,
ARTHUR BOLAND,
Ennis,
Co Clare.
A chara, – Landlordism takes a long time to go out of a country’s psyche, obviously. – Is mise,
MOYA NÍ ÉILÍ,
Sandymount, Dublin 4.
Sir, – Some years ago, at a time when you could only find two Ford Anglias, a Honda 50 and a pencil in Dublin, thousands of social housing units were built.
Now, having indebted our young people in the last crash so that bondholders, hedge funds and wealthy Irish clients remained wealthy, the same young people are guaranteeing the pension funds of people outside of Ireland.
Why does the State not invest in a similar exercise – build, sell or rent – to augment the Irish State pension? Because the people who could do that are busy collecting rents. – Yours, etc,
EUGENE TANNAM,
Firhouse,
Dublin 24.