Sir, - On It Says in the Papers the other day a letter was read out from a lady in Paris who had not enjoyed her holiday in Ireland. She didn't mince her words: she found the place filthy. She's not the only one. Just about every foreign visitor you speak to will say that the litter here is astounding. It is surely time to recognise that Ireland's litter problem has reached crisis proportions, and to do something about it, not just because our tourists have this curious animus against garbage and filth, but for ourselves and our own self-esteem.
The valiant efforts of local clean-up groups and Tidy Towns are not enough: we need a properly researched, properly funded, properly co-ordinated, sustained national policy to achieve a cleaner Ireland. - Yours, etc.,
Marianne Mays
Ballycullen, Ashford, Co Wicklow.