Sir, – I was interested to read about Cllr Ciaran Cuffe's suggestion that the Iveagh Markets be returned to Dublin City Council ("A radical re-think is now required for the Iveagh Market", August 19th).
The markets were leased to the council to be used for a specific purpose, and as such were a conditional gift. When the use ended in the 1980s, the council should have returned the building.
A problem here over the past century is that people often chose to ignore such conditions that were specified for the purpose of long-term city centre planning. A breach is seldom worth pursuing in the courts by the donor because the extra costs incurred are for the benefit of third parties. In most other parts of Europe, an enlightened state will step in to pay the legal costs where a dispute is being resolved in the public interest.
After decades of neglect, Dublin City Council can rectify the matter by returning the property to the Iveagh Trust to be reused for much-needed social housing. If not, it should rename the building, as I for one do not want my ancestor’s name providing a veneer of respectability on a weed-infested, derelict and once-beautiful building that the council has chosen to ignore for so long. – Yours, etc,
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PATRICK GUINNESS,
Furness,
Naas,
Co Kildare.