Sir, I note from your newspaper that the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, has called for legislation to promote accommodation for travellers. Dr Connell is also reported as calling for the co operation of the settled community and a change in deeply rooted attitudes towards the problem.
I am sure that he will agree with me that it is best to lead by example. I would therefore like to ask the Archbishop how many traveller families are housed in the grounds of his palace in Drumcondra; where is the nearest halting site to the Archbishop's residence; and how much land has the Catholic Church donated, or even sold, for the accommodation of travellers?
I notice in recent months that several religious orders have sold large tracts of land for the buildings of housing developments and made millions of pounds in the process. Most of the houses subsequently built have been of the up market variety. - Yours, etc.,
Howth,
Dublin 13.