Sir, - The recent Prime Time programme dealing with the traveller controversy in Dungarvan, was very revealing about public attitudes and policies.
We saw a site which was filthy with litter and detritus. We saw a GAA field made almost unusable by the rubbish and dirt thrown over from the traveller site next door. We saw people living in squalor and a disgusting environment.
The reaction of some of our public representatives was deplorable. There were endless suggestions of mere handouts, of more Government (i.e., taxpayers) spending to alleviate conditions. The ordinary public was criticised for a sour attitude to travelling people.
The obvious fact staring everybody in the face was not stated. If people foul their environment, they will not be respected. The answer lies in their own hands. Keep their area clean. Tidy up after themselves and have respect for the countryside instead of despoiling it. If they did this, they would earn respect.
The average citizen reacts fairly to people by watching their behaviour. Will they be an asset to a neighbourhood or be a menace? Friendliness will soon turn to hostility and fear when an area is devastated, and this is followed by an outcry of self pity and appeals for more handouts to support a squalid "culture".
Respect must be learned. This is the lesson we should be teaching. Our leaders should be talking about responsibility and decent behaviour, rather than blaming ordinary citizens and accusing them of racism. - Yours, etc.,
Onstow,
Kells, Co Meath.