DES MURPHY,
Sir, - Noel Dempsey's recent proposal to establish a traffic corps need not be hailed for its originality.
It was on his desk when he took office as Minister for the Environment in 1997. In November 1996, the consultative panel of the DTI (now DTO) forwarded the following recommendations to the Executive:
"Traffic Corps: Whilst appreciating the limited resources of the Garda, it must be accepted that political and public pressures will always demand that Garda manpower and resources be directed towards prioritising serious crime and other duties on a national basis. In these circumstances the Garda will be unable to guarantee the quality of enforcement essential to the requirements of the DTI.
"The obvious alternative is the establishment of a 'Dublin Traffic Corps', an independent agency dedicated to providing effective and assiduous enforcement of traffic and parking regulations within the DTI area. This will be a trained, regulated force, mobile, equipped with the most sophisticated communications technology available." - Yours, etc.,
DES MURPHY,
Maretimo Gardens East,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.