Sir, - The State of the West report is a threat to the unspoiled beauty and way of life in the West of Ireland. Its recommendations of serious investment in roads, power and telecommunications will serve to ensure heavy industry is sited in the area.
The West is more of an asset to us without four-lane highways and large industrial premises. We should take advantage of its natural beauty and serenity in a way that preserves it.
All that is needed in the West is a single, high-capacity, fibre-optic cable to facilitate the tele-cottage industry. Large industrial premises should be kept in their present locations in the suburbs of urban centres and scattered through the midlands .
From speaking to inhabitants of the regions in question, I know that industrial workers would prefer to travel some distance to their jobs, work three daily or nightly 12-hour shifts, and then return to enjoy their homes for the other four days.
The Government should negotiate with employers to facilitate this kind of shift work and on-site accommodation for western workers. And rather than investing taxpayers' money in road construction, it should invest an equivalent amount in underground fibre-optic cable. It would take a little longer for that investment to pay off, but it would be worth it in the long term.
There is an immediate and obvious boost in revenue when a large plant sets up, and it takes longer for small tele-industry to make an impact. But, as anyone who lives in the west knows, good things take a little bit longer. - Yours, etc.,
Ronan Keane, IFSC, Custom House Harbour, Dublin 1.