Madam, - The piece in your edition of September 27th on the failure of Irish Waterways to utilise monies allocated to it by the Government once again highlights an appalling lack of vision for one of the capital city's most underdeveloped natural amenities.
Fáilte Ireland is about to embark on a €50 million marketing drive around the world to attract tourists to Ireland. Some of these same visitors, when they come, will be staying in four and five star hotels overlooking our canals, but with a view more akin to that over a waste disposal site.
Recent reports indicate that Dublin is losing out to Paris, Amsterdam and Prague for the new short-stay tourist. Surely a good starting point for making Dublin more attractive to non-beers-willing visitors and citizens alike would be to develop our canal banks into walkways and our canals into revenue-generating attractions with barges, floating restaurants and sporting endeavours.
Development of the canals would have the added benefit of eradicating much of the anti-social behaviour which currently occurs on the canal wasteland. It would create a safer and more stroll-friendly environment for both young and old to enjoy.
Mr Andrews's reference to Irish Waterways owning houses that have become uninhabitable highlights the need for an independent resource auditor, who would ensure that value for money is achieved from all State-owned assets. - Yours, etc,
GERRY CROSBIE, The Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.