Sir, – Here are summaries of seven stories that caught my attention, all of which appeared in The Irish Times on Saturday August 29th. They give a fascinating record of governance and priorities for our Government in our Republic today.
A shortage of trained engineers threatens to leave the Republic struggling to build homes.
The Government, fearful of criticism, decided it was a good idea to extend the excise duty cuts, which will increase the bill by a further €407 million to more than €1.3 billion by the end of this year. The Tánaiste said this is common sense.
Thalidomide, the drug that wreaked havoc with the lives of so many citizens, was withdrawn from the Irish market in 1961. Mary Clarken (96), mother of thalidomide survivor Sharon Clarken, is still waiting for a State apology 65 years later.
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Since March 2025 at least 50 requests for places for boys convicted of or on remand for serious crimes have been “unmet” due to lack of places and staff in Oberstown.
There is a deficit of 15,000 student beds today and this figure will rise to 42,000 by 2035.
The number of homeless people in the State has increased to 17,527, of which 5,659 are children. (The €407 million mentioned above is the equivalent cost of one year of providing homeless services in Dublin.)
Surely it’s time for the Government to be held to account over its record on serious issues, and to explain how it proposes to resolve them, rather than spend endless amounts of money on issues that avoid controversy but do little to build an equal Republic. – Yours, etc,
AODH Ó CONNOR
Dublin 12.
