Sir, - Councillor Cyril Gallagher, chairman of Fingal County Council, is reported by Mark Brennock (The Irish Times, October 3rd) as justifying his very active involvement in myriad rezonings in north Co Dublin by saying: "When the builders and farmers are doing well, the country is doing well." I, for one, cannot see much sense in his philosophy. The vast majority of the residents around Swords have not done well as a result of Cllr Gallagher's actions and they have let him and other councillors know this on many occasions.
Local farmers have become millionaires overnight while developers can afford to be the neophilanthropists of Irish society, but the quality of life of those affected by these rezonings continues to suffer. Swords sewerage works cannot cope and vile-smelling overflows are frequent. The existing road network cannot cope and constant traffic jams are another result of ill-conceived rezonings in this area.
Cllr Gallagher is further quoted as saying: "If I don't rezone . . . JCB drivers grind to a halt." If he had as much concern for the nonJCB-driving residents of this area, this country of north Co Dublin would be "doing well". - Yours, etc.,
Pennock Hill, Swords, Co Dublin.