Sir, - As a native Dubliner intending to return shortly to his native shore, I have been following with great interest the intrigue surrounding the LUAS project.
Apparently the commercial barons of Grafton street and surrounds have turned their noses up at the additional 8,000 visitors an hour that LUAS would have brought through their section of the city. Their influence is such that the taxpayer, through our political masters, has now been committed to pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into, quite literally, a hole in the ground. The Celtic Tiger economy may well be swelling the Government coffers to bursting point, but really such extravagance is beyond prudence for even the Sultan of Brunei.
The opportunity exists to provide a world class transport system for the people of Dublin sooner rather than later, to redevelop a swathe of the city centre as a high yield tourist magnet and to save potentially hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money. All it requires is a political leadership with the vision to see that if we treat Anna Livia with care she will love us back tenfold. And if at the end of all, that our leaders still have an irresistible urge to throw our money at a hole in the ground, may I suggest that they dig one smaller but no less prestigious. The old mainline station at Broadstone would make a superb setting for the long awaited National Olympic Pool, and conveniently enough it would be right next to a LUAS stop. - Yours etc., Emmet McCarthy
Sydney, Australia.