Sir, - Foot-and-mouth disease is a fearful scourge and it is proper to take every reasonable precaution to prevent the disease from penetrating our country. Several sporting organisations have displayed admirable restraint in postponing their fixtures and Fine Gael has responsibly cancelled its ard-fheis.
I am not qualified to assess the level of risk involved in taking a group of children to play a game of hockey on an Astroturf surface, for example; I suspect that it is fairly low but, as a conscientious citizen, I am content to put aside my own interests if, by so doing, I may reduce the risk of infection. However, it galls me somewhat that, despite the manifold sacrifices made in so many areas of civic life, church services continue to be held. I bear every respect for the wish of a citizen of any religion to attend a church service, but in equal degree I respect the wish of those who choose to engage in cultural, sporting or political activity.
Sir, there is an inconsistency in the situation - one that I detected in the last foot-and-mouth scare all those years ago. If I, who hold no interest in religion whatsoever, am asked to abstain from my hobbies in the common weal, I feel that religious people, who may have no interest in my hobbies, should make a like sacrifice and refrain, for the duration of the emergency, from convening in church. Without possessing the scientific knowledge to judge accurately, I imagine that large congregations, comprising farmers and other citizens alike, huddled together in a confined space, must generate a greater risk of spreading infection than, for instance, spectators at a minor sporting event. Surely the good Lord would grant dispensation for such a worthy cause. - Yours, etc.,
Lingard Goulding, Headfort, Kells, Co Meath.
Sir, - If for no other reason than to set an example for the rest of us, I assume that all those politicians who were planning to travel abroad for St Patrick's Day will now cancel such arrangements. - Yours, etc.,
Mrs M.C. Kennedy, Silchester Park, Glenageary, Co Dublin.