Sir, - The impressions of our country by the group of 38 German holidaymakers, who are members of an environmentally orientated association ("A German viewpoint", September 21st), are important, coming as they do from outsiders concerned for the environment. They are also timely.
Some of the issues which the group refers to, such as the "gigantic afforestation" with monocultural conifers being pursued with apparent lack of "environmental management", industrialised peat harvesting resulting in "desert like landscapes", the use of cutaway bogs as dumps and proposed dumps; all are issues that continue to be fairly well aired here. To these can be added the ongoing erosion of mountain and hill landscapes by the overgrazing and over trampling by sheep, the current condition of streams, rivers and lakes, which are at present at an all time low, revealing all the more the lamentable condition they are in due to eutrophication and its consequent algae slime and excessive weed growth, and the extensive drainage programmes relentlessly pursued and encouraged, leading to the further lowering of the water table and the diminishing of our wetland habitats.
The German group says that most visitors come to Ireland "to enjoy the unspoiled landscape and the intact flora and fauna". Unspoiled landscape and intact flora and fauna are becoming scarcer commodities here. To continue to advertise an unspoiled landscape as characterising Ireland is not being realistic any more.
At the beginning of this past summer an Irish Times editorial, looking ahead to another bumper year for tourism, referred to Ireland's "broad, clear" waters as one of the key attractions. How hollow such a claim rings now, after a summer that saw citizens of Nenagh deprived of their water supply for months, and nearby Lough Derg reduced to such a condition that the Tipperary NR County Council had to erect "No Swimming" signs in such popular swimming spots as Dromineer and Terryglass. - Yours, etc.,
Carraig,
Roscrea.