Sir, – The decision by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to move the Doomsday Clock to just 85 seconds to midnight earlier this week should alarm every government and every citizen. Humanity has never been closer to catastrophe and the world has never been more unsafe.
This decision reflects a convergence of existential risks, all of which are man-made. The war in Ukraine, the weaponisation of nuclear power, climate breakdown, and the rapid erosion of international arms control agreements together create what the scientists describe as a time of “unprecedented danger”.
Of particular concern is the collapse of the new Start treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia. Its effective ending removes one of the final guardrails restraining the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
As voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International (CCI), I cannot overstate the danger of this moment. The ongoing occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the recent attack on the Chornobyl nuclear power plant demonstrate a terrifying shift in modern warfare.
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Nuclear facilities were never meant to be battlegrounds. The risk of disaster, through accident or design, is now perilously and unacceptably high.
As we approach the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster this April, the world must remember that nuclear catastrophe is not a theory. It is a lived reality for millions of people. Chornobyl is forever. The suffering did not end when the Chornobyl fire was extinguished and neither would the consequences of any future nuclear disaster.
The Doomsday Clock is a diagnosis of our reality. It must serve as both a wake-up call and a call to action for real, true peace. Yet, this is not a moment for despair. It is a moment for courage and hope. We can, if we choose, turn the hands of the Doomsday Clock back next year.
The existential threats we face today are all created by human decisions. That means the solutions are also human. Through cooperation, diplomacy, and moral leadership, it is still possible to reverse our current trajectory towards catastrophe.
If we remain silent, we are playing with a loaded gun. Each of us has a responsibility to speak out, to demand better from our leaders, and to insist on a future built on peace rather than fear.
Human problems require human responses. With courage, cooperation, and a belief that change is possible, we can still choose life over annihilation, and hope over despair. The hands of the Doomsday Clock were moved by scientists. They can only be turned back by humanity. –Yours, etc,
ADI ROCHE,
Chief executive,
Chernobyl Children International,
Cork.
Sir, – The Doomsday Clock got its annual update this week. The clock is a symbol that represents the estimated likelihood of a human-made catastrophe, in the opinion of the nonprofit organisation Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
In its 79-year history, the clock has never been “closer to midnight” than the 85 seconds it was set to on Tuesday.
Given the disruption of the established geopolitical order, added into a toxic mix of climate change inaction and the many ongoing conflicts around the globe, the announcement came as no surprise.
Oh, to be back in 1991, when the clock was at its furthest from midnight (17 minutes) at the time of the end of the Cold War. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN QUIGLEY,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.
Presenting the shamrock
Sir, – News that 40 Ministers and other State representatives are to travel abroad for Saint Patrick’s Day demonstrates what a nonsense this practice has become.
Putting aside the sheer inability to read the room at home, it is time to end the practice, and instead begin the tradition of where leaders and representatives of other countries, cities, and communities are invited to come to Ireland for events, parades, and meetings. – Yours, etc,
ULTAN Ó BROIN,
Blackrock,
Dublin.
Hikes in health insurance
Sir – I read your article on the latest increases in the cost of private health insurance with a sense of fatalism, despair and anger (“Health insurer VHI announces fresh price hike averaging 3%,” January 28th).
Private healthcare costs in Ireland are now escalating rapidly. The usual advice, which is rolled out every year – and now, multiple times a year – is to “shop around”.
This is obviously not cutting it anymore with this level and number of price increases. You might be able to afford private healthcare now.
However, compound out your annual price increases over 10 years. You are going to be in for a shock when you see what you will be paying in 2035.
We are, in theory, meant to be moving towards universal healthcare in this country. When the UK introduced the NHS they told their people “anyone can use it – men, women and children. There are no age limits, and no fees to pay”.
This is the message we need to be hammering home – that we will develop a health system where you and your children will be protected, no matter what, through the course of your life, especially when you are most vulnerable – not shop around. – Yours, etc,
DR MYLES BALFE,
Senior Lecturer in Medical Sociology,
Department of Sociology,
UCC.
Local politics
Sir, – David Loughlin and Eva Dowling (Letters, January 28th) are undoubtedly correct in criticising certain south Dublin TDs for prioritising the issue of paid parking at the Stillorgan Shopping Centre.
I suspect the same politicians are acutely aware of former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tipp O”Neill’s aphorism that “all politics is local”. – Yours, etc,
PAUL WALSH,
Co Dublin.
Wexford flooding
Sir, – Criticism of Met Éireann for the level of communication in regard to flood warning in advance of the Enniscorthy floods last Tuesday morning surprises me.
It has been raining consistently for the last two weeks in Wexford and consequently the river Slaney had reached the soffit level of the Enniscorthy Road bridge last Sunday morning with some local flooding.
All weather apps including the Met Éireann app indicated extensive rain on the Monday night. It didn’t require an expert to predict that flooding was coming.
From history, Wexford Co Council knows the vulnerability of Enniscorthy and indeed Bunclody to flooding. Business owners and residents should have had plenty of time to prepare for the imminent flooding. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN MANGAN,
Enniscorthy,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – The recent and ongoing significant flooding events yet again expose the intrinsic weaknesses in our planning processes for the provision of critical infrastructure.
Talk about forecasts and map colours and weather warnings are irrelevant. The solution is the construction of flood defences. An obvious statement, but that’s it.
The Habitats Directive should not take precedence over the lives, dwellings and businesses of citizens.
The decision by then Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath, to refuse the flood relief scheme for Enniscorthy in 2022 was based entirely on environmental and biodiversity grounds, not on engineering grounds. This, despite the record of serious flooding of the town since the year 2000.
The law should never be inflexible in matters of protecting our citizens from hazard.
We manage to deal with human and animal diseases and pandemics by enforcing emergency measures. Covid and outbreaks of bovine foot and mouth disease are clear examples of this.
The engineering solution to Enniscorthy flooding is there. Surely there’s some way to expedite it?
It’s very disappointing to note the weak political response. Political will needs to go well beyond sandbags and handouts. – Yours, etc,
LARRY DUNNE,
Rosslare Harbour,
Co Wexford.
Having children
Sir, – Unlike Muireann Banks (“Child free by choice”, Letters, January 28th ) I did not perceive Breda O’ Brien’s article“Why is no one talking about the grandchildren gap?” (January 25th,) as an attack on those who choose to remain childless.
Framing a discussion on societal changes resulting from a sharp decline in births, as an attack by the forces of a repressive outdated society, is simplistic.
Individuals are of course, perfectly free to make whatever life choices they wish and good luck to them.
A society with fewer grandchildren is a poorer one. Population decline has very tangible and far-reaching effects, defining concerns as “being cajoled into participating in demographic engineering,” is unhelpful.
The choice not to have children in Ireland in 2026 is very well supported, as it should be. The real problems lie for the many who would like to start a family/have more children and the lack of economic and social supports to do so.
Here’s to a society that supports having children, without them or enough of them, we are all in big trouble. – Yours, etc,
TINA DUNNE,
Ballinteer,
Dublin 16.
Underinvestment in dentistry
Sir – I read with interest the recent Letter of the Day (“Austerity measures still biting in dentistry”, January 24th), which rightly highlights the long-term consequences of sustained underinvestment in public dental services.
However, the challenges facing dentistry cannot be understood without examining the policy decisions that have shaped the system over many years.
As the letter notes, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, expressed concern on January 22nd that dentists are choosing to work in aesthetic medicine rather than treating children.
This is not a sudden or unforeseen development. Workforce shortages, recruitment difficulties and training constraints have been raised repeatedly at Oireachtas health committee hearings.
Workforce planning in dentistry cannot be separated from education, training and career pathways. At present, the only specialties recognised are orthodontics and oral surgery.
This severely limits career progression within the public dental service and weakens its ability to recruit and retain dentists and other oral health professionals to support the care of the most vulnerable.
A public service characterised by limited advancement and ongoing uncertainty will inevitably struggle to compete.
Dentistry, like other healthcare sectors, reflects rational decisions by universities, students and practitioners. Undergraduate dental places have remained largely static for decades, aside from the opening of the RCSI dental school, as a result of Government policy.
Capacity could be expanded by the State purchasing additional places at full economic cost. Wider societal support also influences career choices.
The absence of accessible, affordable childcare, for example, affects healthcare professionals across the system and shapes working patterns and retention.
Oral health is not the responsibility of any single profession or department. The Healthy Ireland Framework recognised it as a shared societal concern, requiring coordinated action across Government and public services.
Improving access to care for children and vulnerable groups will require sustained, joined-up policy responses.
Focusing narrowly on individual career choices risks deflecting attention from the structural factors that underpin current shortages.
If reform is to be meaningful and sustainable, oral health promotion and prevention must sit at the centre of our dental system, not at its margins.
Aside from the proven success of water fluoridation, prevention has never been prioritised in dental policy.
Yet prevention and a public health approach is how people retain their natural teeth for life, reduce inequalities, and avoid costly and complex treatment later on.
At the Dental Health Foundation, our focus is on promoting prevention and better oral health across the life course.
Healthy teeth, gums and mouth are the most functional outcomes, often the most attractive, and they remain the true foundation of sustainable oral health reform. – Yours, etc,
ORLA KENNEDY,
Chief executive,
Dental Health Foundation Ireland,
Dublin 18.
A narrow to-do list
Sir, – I read with interest the article “A to-do list for Government: what one thing could it accomplish in 2026?” (January 24th) inviting writers, artists, students and others to choose a single thing that the Government should do this year.
However, I was surprised by the narrow range of voices represented – largely academics, journalists, students, economists and public-sector commentators.
While these perspectives matter, the absence of private enterprise, small business owners, and others working in industry leaves a significant gap.
In reality, many of the challenges Ireland faces in the coming years from housing delivery, employment and economic growth will be addressed primarily through the private sector working alongside the State.
A broader canvas of opinion would better reflect the full make-up of Irish society and lead to a more balanced and practical discussion of what needs to be done. – Yours, etc,
DONAL FOLEY,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.
Scrambler scourge
Sir, – In your report “Taoiseach pledges to do ‘anything and everything’ to get scrambler bikes off the roads,” (January 28th), Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is quoted as saying:
“Neighbourhoods are being terrorised by antisocial behaviour involving these bikes”
I don’t doubt her intentions and appreciate that sad background events are at play.
However, as the ageing owner of an ageing “scrambler”, I must semantically insist, that the bikes themselves are not antisocial.
Banning the bikes will not address the core issue; it will displace antisocial antics to an alternative arena. – Yours, etc,
GERRY
CHRISTIE,
Tralee,
Co Kerry.
