Sir, – After the atrocity inflicted upon the Jewish community at Bondi Beach, I think we, non-Jewish people in Ireland, must show our solidarity with our Jewish community here.
We need to listen and understand that Jewish people are frightened and are feeling unsure about their place in this country, which is unacceptable to me as an Irish citizen.
It needs to be made clear, repeatedly, especially by our politicians, that the understandable anger at the Israeli government for their treatment of Palestinians does not equate to any blame or anger towards those of the Jewish faith.
Many Irish citizens may believe this is an obvious thing to say, but it is not apparent to our Jewish neighbours, who are feeling so vulnerable. We all must be very careful how we word and express our views.
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The fact that the Garda have met representatives of the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi massacre and are increasing patrols of Jewish gatherings shows that this fear and apprehension is not invented or misplaced.
Jewish people in Ireland have a long and proud history here and have contributed immensely to all aspects of Irish life; from the legal and political spheres to medicine, teaching, business and social justice, Jewish people have often led the way.
They have always been proud Irish men and women, and long may that continue. I, for one, stand firmly with them as I believe the vast majority of Irish people do. – Yours, etc,
ROBERT COUSINS,
Stepaside,
Dublin.
Sir, – I would respectfully suggest people living in Ireland consider lighting a special candle, at home or in a church, each day until the end of Hanukkah (on the evening of Monday, December 22nd) – in memory of those who were brutally massacred on Bondi beach; in protest against anti-Semitism; and in solidarity with the Australian Jewish community, and with our own Irish Jewish community, and with Jewish people around the world.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved and injured. Truly, horrific. – Yours, etc,
CHRIS FITZPATRICK,
Terenure,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – I write to express my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack at Bondi Beach.
Such targeted attacks on civilians must be unequivocally condemned, whether perpetrated by individuals or by states.
This condemnation must extend to direct military actions that cause civilian casualties, as well as to indirect involvement through the supply of weapons, funding, or political support to governments or armed groups responsible for such violence.
A consistent and principled moral standard should be applied universally. – Yours, etc,
PETER MALBASHA,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
Pipeline to Dublin
Sir, – The announcement by Uisce Éireann that it intends to lodge a planning application this week for a 170-kilometre pipeline to convey water from the river Shannon to Dublin, at an estimated cost of ¤6 billion, is concerning.
There are several compelling reasons why such a project is neither necessary nor prudent at this time.
First, it is well established that even a modest domestic water charge would lead to an immediate and significant reduction in consumption – by as much as 40 per cent.
Yet our political system continues to treat water policy as an electoral football rather than a matter of national stewardship.
It is long past time to allow Uisce Éireann to introduce a nominal, universal household charge. Ireland can ill-afford to remain an outlier among developed countries by pretending that water is free simply because we choose not to bill for it.
Second, if ¤6 billion is available, it would be far better spent repairing the country’s existing infrastructure. At present, at least 1.7 billion litres of treated water are lost every day through leaks – an extraordinary and indefensible waste of a scarce resource.
Third, rather than constructing a monumental pipeline from Parteen to quench Dublin’s insatiable thirst, we should be investing in the regeneration and development of communities from Leitrim to Limerick.
Common sense suggests that we bring people to the water, through balanced regional development, rather than draining the lifeblood of rural Ireland to sustain unchecked urban sprawl.
Grand engineering schemes may be impressive on a map, but sound water policy begins with conservation, maintenance, and equity. – Yours, etc,
MATT NOLAN,
Mullingar,
Co Westmeath.
Ghosted by the buses
Sir, – We know that congestion is a problem in Dublin. We know that there are hazards: malfunctioning traffic lights, accidents, etc. We read (hard to believe as it might be) that only “17 per cent of buses are experiencing delays”.
But this is the narrative of the control room. The real-life experience of the bus user is one of stoppages “to align with the timetable”; mid-journey interruptions to accommodate a “change of driver”; while “ghost buses” are a recurring phenomenon.
Dublin Bus needs to decide which is more important: the control room or the passenger. – Yours, etc,
AISLING KEARNEY,
Drumcondra,
Dublin.
Sir, – I read the article on congestion in Dublin city with great interest as I have bitter experience with many of the issues involved (“The congestion is killing us at times: inside the Dublin bus control room,” December 13th).
On two nights last week I waited over half an hour for the F1 bus to bring me into town. I kept checking the Dublin transport app, and saw that four F1 buses were cancelled or simply disappeared during that time.
As the holder of a master’s degree in Anglo Irish Literature and Drama, I contend that Dublin Bus timetables are perhaps our island’s most widely read works of fiction.
As such, said timetables are also probably our most disliked works of fiction, and will probably never win Dublin Bus a Nobel prize for literature. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK ROGERS,
Finglas,
Dublin 11.
Sir, – The “real-time” physical display screen outside Dún Laoghaire railway station, which is meant to provide estimated arrival times for the various buses that stop there, has been out of action for over a month.
This is profoundly inconvenient for bus commuters who depend on the screen to inform them when the next “ghost bus” is due. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey,
Dublin.
Sir, – Thank you for the really informative article by Jack White “Sometimes people feel Dublin Bus is letting them down, but they don’t realise the real reason,” (December 13th), which hopefully MetroLink protesters will read.
It might help them realise not only is there is a whole world of fascinating local and global folk to meet, chat with and learn from on our public transport to whom we can show we truly are a friendly, smiling bunch here in Ireland, but also it will help us citizens to traverse our interesting wonderful city.
Thank you Dublin Bus and your drivers for getting us about – even given the various human (and mechanical) “pinch points”. – Yours, etc,
CATHERINE BENT,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Traffic congestion and the M50
Sir, – Your recent article on traffic congestion on the M50 highlights the inability of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the National Transport Authority(NTA) to adequately deal with traffic congestion in the Dublin metropolitan area.
A spokesman for TII admits that they have done everything they can to maximise the capacity of the M50 which has become the Achilles heel of the national transport network.
This is effectively throwing in the towel and does not bode well for the future. There are lots of things that can be done and foremost is the resurrection of the Leinster orbital route, an outer route, to better service national transport needs.
This would also service the needs of population growth in the new outer metropolitan suburbs in counties Dublin, Meath and Kildare.
TII have had this route under consideration for more than 20 years and should by now have reached an advanced stage of planning and development.
It would also convince the travelling public that TII and the Government is doing something to cope with population growth and congestion over the next 10 to 20 years while very expensive projects like Metro North and other Metro and Luas systems are being developed and built.
The alternative is possibly through massive land use intervention where jobs should be diverted to population growth centres and away from Dublin city. – Yours, etc,
GEOFF CLARKE,
Dunsany,
Co Meath.
Another clause for Santa
Sir, – Valerie Collins suggests children over seven shouldn’t receive presents from Santa (Letters, December 12th). I disagree.
In our home, Santa only ever brought one present for the children. They also received presents from Mom and Dad and various family members.
Santa also brought stocking fillers. Every year they would be different items coinciding with their ages and likes, but always a selection of mini cereal boxes were distributed between them.
Now, as adults, they still look for their favourite cereals on Christmas morning. – Yours, etc,
VICTORIA MADIGAN,
Terenure,
Dublin 6.
Military inadequacies
Sir, – Stephen Collins highlights our failure to hold a debate on defence (“What would happen if Russians landed at Shannon and took over the airport”, Opinion, December 12th), and blames Government timidity. But this nervousness to address the question of Ireland’s military inadequacy goes back more than 60 years.
In May 1962, five months before the Cuban missile crisis, WB Stanford called for an informed debate on Irish neutrality.
The Independent senator feared Seán Lemass’s government might agree to join Nato if that were required for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
He believed there were “many serious-minded, well-informed and anti-communist citizens who would deplore our entering into any military alliance that involved the acceptance of nuclear armament”.
But the neutrality issue faded away in 1963 when Ireland’s EEC application fell with Britain’s.
Ten years later, perceived by the Richard Nixon administration as a “constructive and reliable neutral”, Ireland joined the EEC without entering into any commitment to defend the bloc. This allowed the state to effectively shelter under Nato’s umbrella for the duration of the Cold War.
However, Cold War geo-political certainties came to an end following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and Europe has since become increasingly unstable.
It is almost 25 years since we debated European Union enlargement prior to the first Nice Treaty, but the opportunity that then arose for a serious discussion of the defence issue was squandered.
If the anti-Nato lobby is a “vocal and aggressive” minority, as Collins suggests, when will the Government parties summon the “silent majority” to engage with the fraught state of public opinion on defence policy? – Yours, etc,
JOHN MULQUEEN,
Clontarf,
Dublin.
Sir, – Stephen Collins asks what would happen if a planeload or two of Russian paratroopers landed at Shannon and took over the airport?
The answer is simple. Ryanair would defeat them. They haven’t lost a fight in 40 years. – Yours, etc,
PAUL KILDUFF,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Christianity claims
Sir, – It seems a pity that a gifted public intellectual like John Banville should resort to a long-discredited canard in his review of Melanie McDonagh’s engaging new book, Converts: From Oscar Wilde to Muriel Spark.
The 19th-century claim that Paul was the founder of Christianity has long been disproved and set aside, mostly recently and efficiently by Prof NT Wright, theologian and Anglican bishop.
Two observations may shed light. Firstly, Paul opposed the first Christ-believers because they were already saying that Christ was risen from the dead, that he was Lord and that he was the Messiah.
Paul did not make up these convictions – on the contrary, he originally opposed them. Secondly, in his writings Paul occasionally cites creeds and hymns which are recognised as pre-Pauline, such as 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 (a creed) or Philippians 2:6-11 (a hymn).
These windows on faith before Paul enable us to see that core Christian convictions were already in place from very beginning.
John Banville has the right (of course) to be anti-church or anti-Christian, agnostic or atheist. It is a pity that his opposition is not more rigorous.
Perhaps resorting to canards enables intellectuals like Mr Banville to duck their intellectual responsibilities. – Yours, etc,
Dr KIERAN J O’MAHONY OSA
St John’s Priory,
Dublin 8.
Boorish behaviour
Sir, – Gerry McCann writes of his experience on a recent train journey from Dublin to Belfast outlining issues with a fellow commuter who conducted a loud 30-minute video call while coughing continuously.
Clearly, Mr McCann is not a frequent user of public transport. Unfortunately, I suggest that the boorish behaviour he describes is now in the realm of normal. – Yours, etc,
FRANK J BYRNE.
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.
Occupied Territories Bill
Sir, – With yet another letter from Fintan Lane urging the Government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill (Letters, December 15th), I wonder if it has occurred to him that his repeated pleas for the Government to enact the Bill are having as much effect on influencing Government opinion as enacting the Bill will have on influencing the Israeli government’s opinion. – Yours, etc,
JASON FITZHARRIS,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
More pet peeves
Sir, – Can I add to the list “listen”, mostly used by GAA players before answering, and “warmonger”, especially loved by extreme right and left when describing Ukraine. – Yours, etc,
ENDA SCANLON,
Co Clare.
