Madam, - I am amazed at the outcry against the new law on begging. I think people are missing the point of this law, and whom it is aimed at.
Drive down the Dublin quays at any hour of the day. Every bridge at all four corners has beggars (dressed not unlike Romanian gypsies) who take it in shifts to beg from pedestrians and motorists. They may start with offering you a blessing, but if you ignore this, they may progress to knocking on your window or staring at you, to entice you to "donate".
I have encountered beggars posted at all the exits from the Red Cow roundabouts offering to wash your windscreen at rush hour — how safe is that for them and the drivers? Out in Dun Laoghaire, Glasthule and Dalkey you will find similar organised begging outside shops and banks, often using children and babies as accessories. This is the criminal begging that the law is aimed at, and I for one fully support the new measures. In the past I used to stop and give money or cigarettes to the real down-and-outs on the streets, and ask how the person was getting on. Now I don't feel safe doing this, and just keep walking. And I am sure there are many others like me who no longer give money to the people who really need it.
This law will actually enable those who genuinely need help from passers-by to get it.
- Yours, etc,
Madam, - It has been suggested that in the current recession the Government should make do with less expensive advisers. It seems, however, that they need to employ some better ones. If they had done so, Mr Cowen might not have leapt to the defence of the Fás CEO whilst the population was still seething with indignation at the expense account revelations; and the Minister for Justice might have deferred his vindictive anti-begging proposals to a slightly more opportune time - say, after Christmas? Meanwhile, coming up in the New Year, as Ireland heads towards the dark ages, we can look forward to Mr Gormley trying to stop us using old fashioned light bulbs.
Ah yes, with this coalition, there's never a dull moment.
— Yours, etc,
Madam, - Paul Delaney is quite correct (November 26th). Genuine beggars could scarcely afford a €700 fine. Surely our innovative Government leaders will not baulk at bringing back the stocks or the pillory.
- Yours, etc,