Madam, - I read with dismay that the population of Dublin is expected to increase by 280,000 over the next eight years (The Irish Times, April 23rd). In the same edition, a front-page report said the OECD had expressed "concern at the implications of the Government's decentralisation programme".
With the imminent election of a Taoiseach from the midlands, the will should be there to correct both the demographic imbalance of Dublin and the decentralisation debacle by moving the houses of the Oireachtas and the main public services to Athlone. A new capital in the centre of the country would bring enormous benefits to north, south, east and west. Commuting to the capital would be relatively easy; Dublin airport would be decongested, Shannon reinvigorated, and the West reawakened.
It is an obvious solution to a growing problem. - Is mise,
C. T. Ó DUBHGHAILL,
An Gleanntan,
Corcaigh.