Sir, - Every time the Labour Party issues a new policy document, Fianna Fail can be relied on to find some sentence to take out of context, distort, and use to put down the entire policy.
This week it is the turn of Minister of State Eamon O Cuiv, who is sufficiently worried about Labour's National Spatial Plan that he feels it necessary to misrepresent our position on coastal development (The Irish Times, Monday, February 5th).
Not surprisingly, he does not credit Labour for producing the first national vision for the sustainable development of our country over the next quarter-century. He does not acknowledge our plans for an electrified Galway-Dublin rail line; or for the upgraded road and rail links throughout the West; or for the extension of the Broadband network and the gas grid across the West; or for our emphasis on the development of small towns and villages which will bring new life to Cleggan and Roundstone and the other parts of his own constituency which have been neglected by the present Government.
No, instead he seeks to misrepresent our position on coastal development. Even Mr O Cuiv must be able to see that unrestricted holiday-home development all along our coast is unsustainable, and that it will lead to water pollution and erosion problems, apart altogether from the effect on the visual amenity of these areas.
The question is: what is to be done to ensure that the coastline is protected and properly managed? Many years ago, the late Neil Blaney attempted to restrict development on the seaward side of coastal roads. The Labour Party document has suggested for debate a possible ban on non-marine-related development outside urban areas, which in this case would include villages, for a distance of one kilometre from the coast.
Yes, the Labour Party will debate its policy with Mr O Cuiv, and indeed I had already made arrangements with Michael D. Higgins TD for a public meeting at which we will present our document in full and invite comment from those who are serious about the local environment and the development of the West. The question now is: what is Mr O Cuiv's policy on coastal development? - Yours, etc.,
Eamon Gilmore, TD, Labour Party Spokesperson on the Environment, Dublin 2.