Sir, - Mairin Quill (January 20th) need not be "filled with puzzlement" at the lack of "even the mealiest mention of environmental protection" in your series "Building on the Boom".
Your newspaper was merely reflecting the lack of meaningful action on environmental issues by successive Irish governments. Why mention issues which are obviously not taken seriously by Government representatives except in cliched sound bites?
Unfortunately, the concern expressed during election time by every candidate of the main political parties and the blather which all Ministers for the Environment have inflicted upon us over the years bear no relationship to what has been, in essence, an abject failure of government to even attempt to deal effectively with the pressing environmental issues of the day.
Politicians have not yet understood the symbiotic relationship between enlightened environmental policy and creating a sustainable future for our society. I have come to the conclusion that the political system is utterly incapable of tackling these issues. Political culture is such that creative, intelligent and long-term solutions to many of society's problems today never go beyond the soundbite. Witness, for example, the former Minister for the Environment, Brendan Howlin, preaching passionately at every available opportunity about how the Waste Management Act would solve Ireland's waste crisis. Such baloney! Where is Ireland's waste management strategy now? On the rubbish heap, if I may be permitted a cheap shot.
Continuing the theme, consider the political gridlock in the transport issue, the cul-de-sac within which Irish agriculture has been trapped for decades, the headlong rush into biotechnology, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. I could go on; the list is long and depressing.
Are there any enlightened political thinkers in the main political parties? It is a fair question to ask at this supposedly celebratory period in the life of our nation. - Yours, etc., Gerry Boland,
Bull Alley Street, Dublin 8.