EDWARD HANLON,
Sir, - From time to time I have pondered on the exact whereabouts of Cloud-cuckoo Land. I believe I have now managed to track its location to somewhere in Co Meath, in which county I understand the Minister for the Environment, Mr Noel Dempsey, resides. A week or so ago I read in The Irish Times that Mr Dempsey had declared that the country's pot-hole problems were more or less history; clearly this indicates that Mr Dempsey is indeed living in Cloud-Cuckoo Land.
The N2 road between Monaghan and Dublin, part of which runs through Mr Dempsey's own constituency, forms one of the main routes from Northern Ireland to Dublin. This is one of the worst and most dangerous roads in the country, frequently pot-holed, and the surface is broken and uneven in many places. Just before Christmas I drove down to Dublin, and between Ardee and Dublin I had to swerve three times to avoid running into holes in the road.
High tolerance for low standards: that would be an appropriate motto for our Department of Environment; if the Minister is not even aware of the atrocious road conditions underneath his own nose, then what can he know about the roads further afield?
Most of the road budget seems to be spent building motorways and bypasses. The purpose of a bypass around a town is, of course, to relieve traffic congestion in the town centre; so motorists should be encouraged to use the bypass. But instead, we hear that motorists are going to have to pay a toll for using bypasses; in other words they are going to be penalised for driving on a bypass! Brilliant planning indeed.
Another Irish solution to an Irish problem. Cuckoo! - Yours, etc.,
EDWARD HANLON,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.