Sir, - The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, is said to be very upset by the case of the tortured and abused child who had been left to roam our city streets. I do hope that this is an understatement.
I am angry, outraged and humiliated by the treatment of this child and her family by the Government Ministers and Departments involved, the Health Board authority and all those who have dealt with this tragic situation. Our Government should hang its head in shame.
As a member of the electorate, I do not want another commission, report, committee, research document or working party. I want action. I want the Minister to take out his chequebook and purchase a home in this city for this particular family, a place of safety and care for all its members. Might I suggest he studies the property section of this newspaper and find such a place immediately? In the meantime, this family should be accommodated in the best accommodation that can be provided. As tribunals costing millions and millions of pounds drag on, and our £9.1 million Irish pavilion stands at the deserted Expo in Hanover, and plans for a £240 million sports stadium go on, I believe it is high time that public opinion is listened to. There are 26 weeks left of this millennium and the greatest achievement that should mark this year in the city would be the provision of four millennium homes for the homeless - one for children and young people, one for women; one for men and one for families. Yes, they would cost millions, much more than the paltry £1.5 million allotted recently to provide for the homeless. Get out the cheque book, Ministers, we are watching! - Yours, etc.
Marita Conlon McKenna, Stillorgan Grove, Blackrock, Co Dublin.