Rehousing the Oireachtas

Madam - The reported proposals for the future of Leinster House assume that the Oireachtas will remain on Kildare Street

Madam - The reported proposals for the future of Leinster House assume that the Oireachtas will remain on Kildare Street. But why not move the Oireachtas entirely? It is bursting at its seams, and a new, purpose-built Oireachtas building could be the anchor of an urban rejuvenation project - in Dublin's docklands, for instance.

Apart from allowing our elected representatives to pursue the public interest in a more congenial setting, this would allow the restoration of Kildare Street as Dublin's museum quarter. The National Gallery, the National Library, the National Museum and the Natural History Museum could all be linked by Leinster House, as they were when it was part of the RDS. Pedestrians could walk straight through from Merrion Square to Kildare Street. The railings on Kildare Street and Merrion Square could be removed and two new public parks could be opened up to replace the car parks that are currently squatting there. - Yours, etc,

THOMAS LEGGE, Waterloo Lane, Dublin 4.