Madam, - Having recently been fortunate enough to receive my FirstTime Buyers Grant cheque for €3810, I was astounded to hear MrMcCreevy's comments belittling this amount and stating that it wouldnot be missed by prospective first time buyers. The fact is that I hadto secure a loan for this amount while I waited 18 weeks for myapplication to be processed.
I can assure Mr McCreevy that every cent was used buying my houseand it went a long way to assist in the purchase, but I agree that hadI bought a small mansion in Kildare, it would only be a drop in theocean. - Yours, etc.,
Curragh Hall Drive,
Tyrrelstown,
Dublin 15
... ... * ... * ... * ... ... Madam, - It is not often that onereads an article in a newspaper that is profoundly moving but TonerQuinn's eloquent article on housing (November 18th) has affected megreatly. At last we hear the voice of a young person on this subjectwhich has become a seemingly insurmountable problem for the "bulge"generation.
It is very difficult to find words to describe just how angry, hurtand abandoned I feel as a 27-year old by the Government of thiscountry. I know I am not alone in this.
The young people of Ireland are becoming enslaved, working andpaying taxes to fill the coffers of a Government that has effectivelydenied them their right to have a family, to buy a home, to expect asecure future.
Not being able to purchase a home we are forced to pay rent of 50per cent (or more) of our income to enrich landlords who offer nosecurity of tenure (essential to starting a family). Most of them seemto be motivated by pure greed and are facilitated by our uncaringGovernment.
In his article Mr Quinn made reference to the fact that many olderpeople express disapproval at the amount young people spend onentertainment and luxuries such as foreign holidays.
I spend about €1,500 p.a. on foreign holidays - shame on me! If Isaved this money I might be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment, 15miles from the city-centre in about 200 years.
It is easy to see why young Irish people are incensed by theirtreatment at the hands of their Government, but I cannot understand thecomplacency of the older generation who accept so easily the demandsthis housing problem places on them. After years of paying taxes to theState, as they near retirement, they are still expected to provide fortheir grown-up children, at most by buying a house for them, at thevery least by allowing them to remain in the parental home well beyondthe arrival of the perfectly natural desire to fly the nest.
What more can I say? I for one have given up hope of ever being able to afford my own home.
And I am heartsick at seeing my friends leave this country one byone because the prospects for the young here seem so bleak. They allhad jobs, which is a good thing, but this Government has given with onehand and is taking away with the other.
Do we really need to spell it out? Will it take pikes and flamingtorches at the gates of Leinster House before our politicians take offtheir blinkers and do something radical to address this situation? -Yours , etc,
NIAMH O'CONNOR,
Palmerstown,
Dublin 20.
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Madam, - In the general furore about the Estimates, the savagecut of 14 per cent in the allocation for the Office of the Ombudsmancould easily go unnoticed. Keep Ireland Open is very concerned aboutthis attack on the very bedrock of our democracy. The herculean effortsof Kevin Murphy and his small team of dedicated workers will beseverely hindered in the future.
Lest it be thought that there might be a falling-off in the need forhis intervention, we would point out that the truth is quite theopposite. Looking at the Annual Report for 2001 we find that the numberof complaints increased by 19 per cent and the cases on hand at the endof the year increased by no less than 51 per cent.
We have found the work of the Ombudsman to be invaluable inconfronting local authorities with the many instances where they havefailed to enforce the planning laws. It behoves every concerned citizenand environmental or community group to make their dissatisfactionknown to the Minister for Finance and their local TDs. - Yours, etc.,
ROGER GARLAND,
Chairman, Keep Ireland Open,
Butterfield Drive,
Dublin 14.
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Madam, - Why direct all the blame for the Book of Estimates at Charlie McCreevy.
He has the full backing of the Taoiseach with whom the buck surely stops. - Yours, etc.,
ADRIAN CARROLL,
Gladstone Street,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.