Madam, - Archbishop Martin's recent call for a national summit on violence was briskly rejected by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice (The Irish Times, July 17th).
This is unfortunate. While the present Government - particularly Brian Lenihan while Minister for Children - has introduced a number of valuable initiatives, there are still many rather obvious problems which are not being addressed in any co-ordinated way.
In countries with powerful local authorities, most of these could be effectively addressed at local level, but in Ireland, with our oddly fractured but still highly centralised administration, national action and national decisions will be needed.
There is a a lot of local and international evidence and experience which could and should be brought to bear. Actions are needed in my own area, the health service, in education, policing, the prison services and planning, among others. We need a space for mutual learning, the exchange of views and the development of effective policies. If the Government won't lead on this, perhaps the archbishop could?
I believe that such a summit would start to address a pressing need, and would get substantial support. - Yours, etc,
ANTHONY STAINES,
Senior Lecturer,
School of Public Health,
UCD,
Dublin 4.