Madam, - At the launch of a website on flood hazards, Minister of State for the OPW Tom Parlon warned of the threat of flooding posed by inappropriate developments (The Irish Times, October 17th).
He went on to say that where flooding has not happened for a number of years, memory of the event fades "and it is often overlooked where new development is being considered".
In the 1930s a series of storms destroyed housing at Greystones North Beach, having overwhelmed the coastal defences put in place for their protection.
Yet Wicklow County council now proposes to locate 400 houses on the very same site.
During the oral hearing on this development the Department of the Marine warned that the harbour walls were too low. The council admitted that the events of 1930 had not even been considered in planning the development.
Indeed, it has subsequently admitted that it has no historical data on tidal heights in Greystones.
It seems while one State body warns us of impending disaster, another strives to bring it about. - Yours, etc,
FIACHRA ETCHINGHAM, Greystones, Co Wicklow.