Cost of housing not just an Irish problem
● Sir — In the week the Central Statistics Office said the number of Irish citizens emigrating to Australia had more than doubled to 10,600 in the 12 months to April this year, it was very informative to read an article in Life magazine last Sunday on this issue.
I wish to congratulate journalist Saoirse Hanley, who correctly pointed out the high cost of housing in Ireland is not an “indictment of Ireland. It’s a truth that is partly universal, and it’s certainly international”.
There are many reasons why Irish people emigrate, but the mantra that Ireland has high housing costs compared to other countries is simply not correct. Rents in cities where many of our young people emigrate — such as Sydney, London, New York or any of the Canadian cities — are on a par or higher than in Dublin. I have first-hand experience of the high rent and food costs in Sydney, having lived there in 2000/2001.
The weather and quality of life may entice people to move there, but the cost of living is definitely not a “pull factor”.
It was refreshing to read a balanced article discussing the issue in light of our low level of unemployment.
Eamonn O’Hara, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal
Darmody’s activism such an inspiration
● Sir — I want to congratulate the brilliant autism campaigner Cara Darmody, who is from my own town of Clonmel, for speaking out on behalf of autistic children and highlighting the long periods that children have to wait to be assessed.
I, too, would like to ask Taoiseach Simon Harris why these kids are being treated as some kind of second-class citizens? They deserve the right to be immediately cared for by the State.
Last Monday, the Taoiseach once again was unable to provide Cara and her family with a date whereby the HSE would commit to abide by its legal obligation to assess children within six months.
Kicking this can down the road has to stop now. We are continually being told that this country is awash with money and yet this blatant abuse and discrimination continues.
John O’Brien,
Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Harris’s track record a cause for concern
● Sir — I would issue a word of caution about the praise our new Taoiseach is receiving for his high-energy approach to the job. His record in the Cabinet leads me to doubt his credentials to lead this country.
He was criticised multiple times as minister for health for his role in the cervical cancer scandal. He was standin as minister for justice when asylum applications started to increase rapidly in 2022 and does not appear to have done much to implement our basic immigration rules.
He got elected on the 15th count to retain his seat in Wicklow in the last election, which is hardly an endorsement by his constituents.
I feel that his high energy is being directed to the wrong areas. People’s biggest issues are housing and immigration. I see no new change in policy on either.
Most people will judge Simon Harris on his implementation of policies to improve their lives and not on how many photo opportunities he gets.
Peter Woods,
Drogheda, Co Louth
Grape expectation was a real life-saver
● Sir — In response to Eilis O’Hanlon’s opinion piece (‘We drink less than ever, so why does our booze obsession still consume us?’ August 25), when I was a high- school principal it was alcohol that helped me survive the week.
I would sit through tedious meetings about Department of Education matters, daydreaming about which wine I’d be uncorking on Friday evening.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
A new approach to dealing with alcohol
● Sir — Eilis O’Hanlon is concerned about the attention given to alcohol issues. Yes, there is plenty about alcohol in the media, most of it generated by the alcohol industry: good-news stories about new products and the exaggerated importance of this drug to the economy.
Industry press releases are generally accompanied by calls to relax our modest alcohol controls. Recently, the welcome decrease in alcohol consumption has been given as a reason to reduce excise duties.
This reckless call is designed to line the pockets of an already highly profitable industry while ignoring the damage this product does to individuals, families, communities and the State.
The economic costs of alcohol harm have been investigated by multiple bodies, including the World Health Organisation and the OECD. No matter what methodology is used, the costs far outstrip what is raised in excise duties.
Ms O’Hanlon claims tweaks to pricing and availability will not change Ireland’s relationship with alcohol. However, the Commission on Taxation and Welfare, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank all put forward evidence that taxation is an essential tool for addressing consumption — and emphaise the need for it to be increased regularly in line with inflation.
Despite the evidence, alcohol excise duties have not changed in a decade — a testimony to the lobbying power of the industry.
An increase would mean improvement in health outcomes from reduced consumption and an increase in exchequer funding for services impacted by alcohol.
These are political decisions and should be made on the basis of available evidence. Yet Ireland lacks the infrastructure to develop the coherent policy needed across government.
One solution would be the establishment of an Office for Alcohol Harm Reduction which would systematically gather evidence and co-ordinate policy across departments.
Alcohol is Ireland’s most widely available and harmful drug and impacts from the cradle to the grave. Developing a coherent approach to policy would be the real game-changer in recalibrating Ireland’s relationship with alcohol.
Dr Sheila Gilheany,
CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland
Exposing football’s rumour millstone
● Sir — Congratulations to Conor McKeon on his wellwritten and witty article regarding “football transfer gossip”.
Sadly, many of Conor’s fellow journalists and TV and radio reporters broadcast this nonsense daily as if it were fact.
When the reality show that is the “transfer window” closes, maybe Conor could turn his attention to the new language used by soccer reporters. For example, he might explain “a holding midfielder” and my favourite, “a false No 9”.
Keep us smiling, Conor. Liam Cassidy, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16
Circumcision is an outdated practice
● Sir — David Quinn tells us our tolerance will be assessed on our attitudes to the ritual circumcision of children. Well, I’m proud to be intolerant of anyone performing medically unnecessary surgery on daysold infants, based on nothing more than Bronze Age superstition.
This is the 21st century.
It’s time we grew out of such nonsense.
Bernie Linnane,
Dromahair, Co Leitrim
Senator Byrne is Game for a laugh
● Sir — Senator Malcolm Byrne’s recent proposal that Ireland should prepare to make a bid to host the Olympics in 2072 is a fanciful suggestion for a country with a population of around five million, given that the last five renewal of the Games have been held in countries with populations ranging from between 65 million to 1.4 billion.
In 1960, Jean Drapeau, the then mayor of Montreal, which had a population of three million, convinced the International Olympic
Committee that his city could host that 1976 Games and that it would cost $310m.
The Games were awarded to Montreal but the final bill amounted to $1.4bn and even as the Games commenced the stadium had not been fully completed. The Canadian taxpayer had to foot the bill for over 20 years afterwards.
Canada, as the host country, did not manage to win even one gold medal from the 198 on offer — the only occasion in the history of the Summer Olympics that this has happened.
James Healy, Highfield Park, Galway
Students can always get a second chance
● Sir — Conor Skehan last week said if a student is not happy with their choice of course or college, they can always change and try something else.
Life is full of challenges; we follow the wrong path at times, but the trick is to recognise the situation and change tack.
Parents play a huge role here in being supportive. It is very important not to lose sight of the student as a beloved family member. Many now go on to discover hidden talents and do something completely different that can bring much satisfaction and a well-paid career.
Spare a thought for the older generations who were educated in the toughest school of all — the university of life.
Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo