Landslide at Pollathomas

Madam, - You report Mr Eamon Ó Cuív as saying that what happened at Pollathomas was "a natural disaster that could not have been…

Madam, - You report Mr Eamon Ó Cuív as saying that what happened at Pollathomas was "a natural disaster that could not have been foreseen" (The Irish Times, September 24th). No, Minister, this was not like a volcanic eruption; this was a man-induced disaster, which was in principle predicted for the area by Bord Planeála when it gave reasons against the siting of the proposed Atlantic gas terminal at Belmullet, as Frank McDermott pointed out in your columns a few days ago.

By coincidence, my wife and I were walking on Benwee Head about 10 days ago in sight of the Pollathomas hillside, and we were appalled by the state of the blanket bog near the summit. The whole surface of the bog was criss-crossed by cracks and fissures, and dotted with sad and tiny isolated tufts of heather.

Years ago far-sighted environmentalists such as the late Prof Frank Mitchell warned against the damage to upland bog cover that was being caused by over-grazing. We listened. But what did we do to stop it? - Yours, etc.,

Prof JOHN V LUCE, Bushy Park Road, Dublin 6.