Sir, - Returning to Dublin last Friday from a meeting in Paris, I was handed a yellow warning leaflet on foot-and-mouth disease, in English, Spanish and French. The French version of the 13line notice contained no fewer than eight elementary mistakes of grammar and spelling, most of which could have been easily spotted by a Leaving Cert student. Slovenly abuse of the language of a major importer of our agricultural produce hardly inspires confidence in the Ministry of Agriculture's ability to respond effectively to the present crisis.
They don't learn or they can't act. I had handed a corrected version of the same leaflet to a ministry official at Dublin Airport two weeks earlier. - Yours, etc.,
J.M.D. Coey, New Dunsink Lane, Dublin 15.