Letters to the Editor, November 2nd: On conspicuous pollution, landlords leaving the market and remembering Patrick Stewart

Sir, – Your front page article (October 27th) on the world’s richest 0.1 per cent having a greater carbon footprint than the poorest 44 per cent ought to have provoked widespread outrage at this disparity.

Your front page article on helicopter travel to the Ryder Cup (October 30th) provides a practical illustration of the attitudes that sustain this disparity.

The focus is on the financial cost of these journeys while the climate cost goes unmentioned. Six people may spend €27,000 flying from Dublin to Adare and back to watch golf while a train alternative is available.

Where is the outrage at the choice of such an extravagant and carbon intensive means of transport during the climate emergency?

A helicopter return trip from Dublin to Adare might emit as much carbon dioxide as driving a petrol car for roughly 4,000 kilometres.

Those stepping from their helicopters may be admired as wealthy people enjoying the rewards of success. Why should such conspicuous pollution confer social prestige?

The ability to pay for the fuel should not confer a moral entitlement to impose the resulting damage on others.

We readily recognise the injustice of excessive emissions when presented with global statistics. We seem much less willing to challenge the behaviour that produces them during an Irish sporting occasion.

The question is not simply whether these passengers can afford to choose to travel by helicopter. It is why the rest of us continue to regard that choice as socially or morally acceptable? – Yours, etc,

PAUL O’SHEA,

Planet Before Profit CLG,

Shankill,

Dublin 18.

Landlords leaving the market

Sir, – Niall Murphy (Letters, October 30th) appears to conclude, from one case of wrongful eviction, that the sanctions imposed by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) are an ineffective deterrent. That is a rather sweeping conclusion to draw from an individual case – exceptional cases do not, in themselves, demonstrate that the system of sanctions is failing.

In any event, the most significant sanctions imposed on landlords are not those handed down by the RTB. They are the cumulative consequences of successive legislative, taxation and regulatory measures, including rent pressure zone restrictions, which have made the provision of private rental accommodation increasingly unattractive to small landlords.

The result has been a steady exodus of precisely the people whose properties have traditionally provided a substantial and important part of the rental market.

To those who regard the very existence of small private landlords as somehow abhorrent, I have some reassuring news: they are unlikely to have to put up with them for much longer. Their disappearance, however, will also mean the disappearance of the homes they provided.

There is a certain irony in celebrating the demise of small landlords while lamenting the shortage of rental accommodation.

Like many species driven to extinction, their value may only be fully appreciated when they are gone.

Unfortunately, unlike extinct wildlife, their loss will not simply be a matter for regret. It will be measured in fewer available homes, greater competition for those that remain and, ultimately, ever higher rents. – Yours, etc,

GEOFF SCARGILL,

Bray,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – What if we rewarded landlords who offered affordable, long-term leases (five years or more) with tax incentives, while imposing punitive taxes on short-term rentals?

Could incentivising long-term, affordable tenancies help turn the housing crisis around and revitalise our city and town centres?

Just a thought. – Yours, etc,

FRANK BRODERICK,

Dublin 9.

Chew chew trains

Sir, – Shared spaces on Irish Rail trains often lead to closer affairs than most desire.

It would be of the kindest consideration if people availing of refreshments would chew with their mouths closed. The simplest of manners would go a long way in such proximity to strangers.

It is not, in fact, a “Chew Chew” train. – Yours, etc,

EOIN STANLEY,

Ardclough,

Kildare.

Palestinian student visas

Sir, – Úna Kealy rightly highlights the contradiction between Ireland’s condemnation of the destruction of education in Gaza and the barriers preventing Palestinian students from taking up university places (Letters, October 29th).

The recent High Court judgment concerning a Palestinian student awarded a full scholarship to University College Cork illustrates the inadequacy of ordinary visa procedures in extraordinary circumstances.

Rather than relying on individual appeals, costly litigation and improvised solutions, Ireland needs a standing emergency protocol for students from conflict zones.

Government departments and universities should establish arrangements for alternative documentation, expedited visa decisions and safe passage where possible.

Irish universities can offer scholarships and places of sanctuary, but Government must ensure students can actually reach them. – Yours, etc,

GERTRUDE COTTER,

School of Education,

University College Cork.

Removing the triple lock

Sir, – In her article on Government plans to remove the triple lock (“Jaded rhetoric and trite stereotypes about neutrality are inflaming triple lock debate,” October 29th), Alanna O’Malley argues that the debate has been full of confusion.

This isn’t surprising. The Taoiseach Micheál Martin, in 2013 stated that the triple lock (requiring Government and Dáil approval and a UN mandate before Irish troops were deployed abroad) was the “core of Irish neutrality”.

The confusion is caused by the willingness of Micheál Martin and his Government to remove this “core” and still insist that neutrality is safeguarded.

O’Malley adds to the confusion by highlighting Irish participation in the Nato-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and the EU-led mission in Bosnia and the Mediterranean as examples of Ireland playing a military role “beyond the UN framework” of peacekeeping.

However, this isn’t the case. All of these missions were UN mandated under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

The necessity of a UN mandate ensures that Irish troops are assisting the will of the international community not the sectoral interests of some smaller grouping.

Where Irish troops will definitely be operating outside the UN framework is if the Government manages to dismantle the triple lock and participate in a new EU-led mission in Lebanon where we could be involved in “peace-enforcement” and possibly involved in a Civil War.

The Government is now reneging on its solemn commitment to the Irish people in the Nice and Lisbon treaty referendums to maintain the triple lock. Neutrality is a matter of such importance that it should not be changed without a referendum.

Let the people decide. Irish neutrality is not owned by the Government. It’s owned by the people. – Yours, etc,

CAROL FOX,

Dún Laoghaire,

Co Dublin.

Why does the Government..?

Sir, – Why does the Government make perfectly sensible decisions and introduce worthwhile initiatives, only to undermine them through failures of implementation and delivery?

Derelict Property Tax: a potentially powerful incentive to bring vacant properties back into use during a housing crisis. Yet ¤35 million in fines and levies was left uncollected.

HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme: a valuable initiative to help patients access treatment and reduce waiting lists. Yet patients have been left waiting up to seven months for refunds.

Two worthwhile initiatives. Two failures of delivery. What a waste.

Good policy is not enough. Governments must ensure that decisions are implemented, promises are delivered and public services actually work. – Yours, etc,

PETER KELLY,

Straffan,

Co Kildare.

Seldom seen bib

Sir, – When I see an e-scooter user obeying the new law by wearing a helmet and high-visibility bib, it brings to mind the seanfhocal “an rud is anamh is iontach”. What’s seldom is wonderful. – Yours, etc,

ITA O’HANLON,

Raheny,

Dublin 5.

Taking care of older people

Sir, – Last Thursday (October 29th) marked the International Day of Care and Support. It is time for some hard truths about how we treat our older people and the vulnerable in our healthcare system.

Not too distant from now, we will all be sitting at some level of committee discussing the scandal of our times: the current state of home care services in Ireland.

Over the years, our nation has seen more than its fair share of institutional abuse in healthcare settings. Scarcely a week goes by without news of yet another negligence case settled by the HSE on the steps of the court, costing the taxpayer thousands of euros.

Simultaneously, we are continually told that the health budget is consistently overrun with astronomical spending. All of this demands urgent and careful examination.

It is common knowledge that quality home care prevents the unnecessary hospitalisation of the elderly and relieves immense pressure on our acute healthcare system.

Yet, in recent years, the HSE has increasingly outsourced these vital services to for-profit home care agencies. HSE homecare packages are a lucrative bread and butter source of revenue for many of these agencies that can be set up easily and at will.

This model has created a glaring accountability vacuum: If you have a grievance regarding the care you or a loved one receives, you are told to go to the agency.

If you turn to the HSE’s official complaints facility you are simply redirected right back to the internal procedures of the very agency you are complaining about. This circular Catch-22 bureaucracy is ridiculous.

In addition the credentials of some staff employed by these agencies demand sharp focus. Many lack the requisite QQI Level 5 care-of-the-elderly modules. Instead, they are hired with the view to obtaining qualifications later, pushed out to clients and loved ones after just a few days of shadowing and a brief in-house course.

While it is true that the Health Information Quality Authority (Hiqa) is slated to assume governance over the home care sector much like it does for nursing homes, this process is far too slow and laborious.

It must be expedited as a matter of absolute urgency.

A failure to establish robust governance-including a statutory register of carers, rigorous oversight, regular inspections, and holding the “responsible person” within these agencies strictly to account-will have severe consequences.

Furthermore, the HSE should track hospitalisations linked to specific home care packages, maintaining a record of which agencies result in the highest rates of client hospital admission to accurately gauge the quality of care delivered.

The taxpayer deserves value for money, but above all, our vulnerable citizens deserve safety.

Crucially, if we want a robust care system, those at the coalface delivering the care must be afforded a living wage and decent working conditions. Too often, carers endure low hourly pay and precarious employment.

If we do not take care of the carers, how can we possibly expect them to take care of our loved ones?

There is much to do regarding the provision of care for the elderly in this country, and this vital work must start now. – Yours, etc,

KILLIAN BRENNAN,

Malahide Road,

Dublin 17.

Travelling Mary cakes

Sir, – Alastair Conan (Letters, October 28th) may find that Mary cakes have travelled farther than he imagines.

After courting Victor Bewley’s eldest granddaughter, Hazel Murdoch, the best choice I made for our wedding breakfast in 1989 was a large plate of Mary cakes. Years later this provided a rare photo of Marys, after the recipe was lost.

My wife, now Hazel Carmichael, is the “cake detective” of An Irishman’s Diary, October 23rd.

During Covid lockdowns, she tried many combinations of ingredients to re-create the Mary from her Hazel’s Cake Studio in Hertfordshire.

It was my role to taste and comment on innumerable little bowls of the gorgeous filling – which I, naturally, felt required many careful repeat samplings.

Since the relaunch at Bewley’s Grafton Street, Hazel has brought the Mary cake back to Budapest for the Irish Ambassador‘s St Patrick’s Day reception, and again to mark Ireland’s EU presidency. She could even post some to Alastair in Surrey, if this helps his legal brain. – Yours, etc,

JONATHAN CARMICHAEL,

Rickmansworth,

England.

Remembering Patrick Stewart

Sir, – Donald Clarke’s tribute to Patrick Stewart brought back a memory, and a reminder of just how singular that voice was.

As a student, I stayed a few days with relations on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Returning one evening, the lift I entered went to the basement first, where a man in a cap and sunglasses got in with a young couple.

I retreated to the back, as one does, while they chatted away to him.

The doors opened on my floor. As I made to leave, he spoke, just one line, and that voice stopped me dead. Rich, commanding, warm and utterly unmistakable.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise, in the form of Patrick Stewart, had been riding with me all along and I hadn’t copped it until that moment.

My regret is that I didn’t recognise him sooner. Had I clocked him in the basement, I’d have asked the only question that mattered: where did he want to go?

It would have given him the chance to oblige with “where no man has gone before.”

Instead I stood there, mouth open, as the doors closed on him and he continued upward – in my mind’s eye to his command on the Bridge.

It was a unique and brilliant voice, and I’m grateful to have heard it, however briefly, from a few feet away. – Yours, etc,

JOHN GARVEY,

Blackrock,

Co Dublin.

Sir, – Patrick Stewart was a fine actor, but as Captain Jean-Luc Picard he was out of this world. Star Trek was one of television’s great programmes, combining imagination, humour and a reassuring belief that humanity might eventually get its act together.

Perhaps his most appropriate farewell comes from the Enterprise itself: “Live long and prosper.”

Patrick Stewart did just that. And what a wonderful journey it was. – Yours, etc,

ENDA CULLEN,

Armagh.

Leafy drawback

Sir, – The only drawback to living in a leafy suburb is – the leaves. – Yours, etc,

DIANE CARSWELL,

Churchtown,

Dublin 14.