Sir, – Further to “Dublin is a dirty, smelly, sticky old town again” (Una Mullally, Opinion & Analysis, June 12th), I have just returned from a short break in Paris. On arrival last week, the headline in Le Figaro was “La Crise de Logement” (ie homelessness).
Walking around the city, we encountered overflowing litter bins, tents with people sleeping rough, people seeking help outside metro stations, where the foul smells would outdo Dublin any day. By all means let’s tackle our many problems. But let’s stop beating ourselves up while we go about it. – Yours, etc,
PAUL KILCULLEN,
Stillorgan,
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Co Dublin.
Sir, – Well done to Una Mullally for her article on the dreadful state of Dublin. All the local authorities must be aware of areas that have high footfall and attendant litter. Therefore continuous cleaning is called for – throughout each day and evening – on foot with a litter-picker is often the more productive way to proceed. Businesses need to assign a person to pick up litter, and not merely sweep it aside, hoping it blows onto the road. Those businesses who fail to keep their outer areas clean should be subject to strict fines. Whoever is in charge of cleaning, in the various local authorities in Dublin, needs to get outside and work alongside their staff to appreciate the extent of the problem. And we the public need to do our bit too and encourage each other and our children to put rubbish where it’s meant to be – in the bin. With a bit of effort, Dublin could indeed be heaven. – Yours, etc,
MARY FOGARTY,
Balbriggan,
Co Dublin.