A Chara, - As a Dublin City councillor and candidate for next week's election for the Mayor of Dublin, I urge the Archbishop of Dublin to follow the fine example of the Bishop of Killaloe in selling church land at a bargain price to Clare County Council for social housing.
There are more than 13,500 families on the housing waiting list in Dublin - some 30,000 people at a very conservative estimate.
Dr William Walsh, the Bishop of Killaloe, should be commended for doing something practical to help alleviate the shortage of land available for social housing for families. His statement that he took this action because he is "conscious of the church's social obligations in regard to the use of property" should be noted by others in similar land-owning positions.
I now ask the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, and other church and community leaders who have land banks at their disposal to follow Dr Walsh's lead by making land available for social housing. And I also call on all semi-State bodies to examine their land resources with a similar purpose in mind. - Is mise,
Cllr Nicky Kehoe, (Sinn Fein) Dublin Corporation, Liffey House, Dublin 2.