Sir, - Colin McClelland (May 7th) is amazed at the deplorable condition of the Dodder, a valuable public amenity. One can only sympathise with him on the hopelessness of the cause he espouses.
The fact is that the three local authorities with responsibility to maintain it have neither money nor manpower to conduct a proper clean-up. Neither would they be in a position to protect it from subsequent littering. I am not aware that they have accorded it sufficient priority in their scheme of things to warrant even sitting down and discussing a joint approach. Some readers may not know that local authorities do not have their own independent sources of finance.
Your correspondent has a further query about the proposal of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council to locate a halting site close to the river bank and within a few yards of the Ely Gate monument. I agree with his conclusion that this is a "bizarre decision".
It is all the more so when one considers that An Bord Pleanala refused permission for housing at this location in 1978, citing as one of its reasons that the development would be injurious to the important amenity value of the Dodder Valley.
The lack of adequate space for the proposed eight families and the fact that the access road is prone to flooding seem to have been ignored while consultation with local residents at Lower Dodder Road nearby and their public representatives has been minimal.
However, the most bizarre fact of all is that the proposal includes the provision of a lockable gate with access from the site into the administrative area of South Dublin Co. Council, thus permitting direct entry to the public park and Ely monument, which were subjected to damage during a previous unauthorised incursion. South Dublin Co. Council was not consulted or asked for permission. The matter first became known on March 25th, when tenders for construction of the site had already been invited. - Yours, etc., Mary Muldoon,
Independent Councillor, South Dublin County Council, Tallaght, Co Dublin.