Sir, – I’ve been a keen recycler and energy saver all my life. I guess my parents drilled it into me. After all, they grew up in the aftermath of the second world war, and I was a teenager in the Ireland of the 1980s, a time when electricity blackouts and queues at the petrol pumps were a regular occurrence.
To this day I’m careful to switch off the lights when I leave a room. I try to find a good home or second use for everything before I consign it to landfill. I wouldn’t dream of turning on the washing machine between 5pm and 7pm or of throwing a glass bottle into anything other than a bottle bank.
I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I do my best to try to protect this planet for future generations. But now I read that data centres accounted for a fifth of Irish electricity usage in 2024! Is it time now to add Google and ChatGPT to my list of “Don’ts” to protect the environment and help Ireland reach its climate targets?
That being said, I’m quietly confident that all the energy consumed by Irish data centres is being driven by a worldwide thirst for data, not merely an Irish one. Remind me again who will pay the enormous fines if/when we do not reach our climate targets? – Yours, etc,
RACHEL MCCORMAC,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Buying a house and renting
Sir, – John McManus (“Government had to choose tenants over investors,” June 11th) claims that the Government had to choose tenants over investors by introducing a rent control strategy.
Some might claim that the Government is choosing investors by assuring them of long term rental income. If some tenants in the future cannot pay the rent, the State will have to pay.
I felt very sorry for the thousands of young people who will never be able to own a house in Ireland. It is sad that at a time when increasing numbers are finding employment here, they cannot afford to buy homes.
Will they be content to rent all their lives or will they emigrate?
In the 1970s, the State built corporation houses , those estates still provide homes for buyers.
At that time too, many low income state employees were able to avail of special mortgages, and there was some tax relief available for interest payments on home loans.
Now, the State is richer than it ever was, why does it not invest more in housing? As investors know it is an excellent long term investment. – Yours, etc,
DR EVELYN MAHON
Fellow Emerita,
School of Social Work and Social Policy,
Trinity College ,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – Margaret Ward writes about the cost of child care in Ireland, which is a significant issue, though one which has received large amounts of subsidy over the last number of years, as have the costs of children generally. (“Childcare in Ireland: ‘Even as well-paid professionals, it was an exhausting struggle. The numbers never added up,” June 12th).
However, it would seem to me, that this is a case of the cobblers’ children having no shoes and that an underlying and often overlooked issue is not the cost of childcare, but the cost of a mortgage.
A mortgage of €2,500 a month, 20 years ago would have been a colossal amount of money to pay, it still is, despite inflation of wages over the last number of years.
High rents currently would also contribute to normalising this figure now. This cost would cover many workers full monthly salary alone.
Financial advisors recommend to fit comfortably under 30 per cent of your net pay you’d have to earn a minimum of €7,500 a month net of tax and more to be actually comfortable. There are people who do, but this is out of the reach of most, not to mind 20 years ago.
This exemplifies a common problem in our housing problems.
Couples, in particular, will push up the price of a house as they want to ensure a purchase, though estate agents also have a role to play here.
They forget further expenses coming down the line such as the cost of children, leaving room for flexible working arrangements or god forbid, something serious happens meaning they can’t work at all and then they are stuck.
Not to mind being able to live life with a few little perks such as a night out or a takeaway coffee in order to grease the wheels of life.
This behaviour has an impact on other buyers too, for example, single buyers, who can’t compete with two salaries and are left out of the market altogether – they get nothing in the way of cost of living supports of any sort from the government.
Certainly better transparency when purchasing would help as there is often very little clarity here regarding bids and alternative bidders but also cutting your cloth to your measure with a bit of forward thinking is important too. – Yours, etc,
NIAMH BYRNE,
Fairview,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – We have a gigantum housing shortage; each year supply increasingly falls short of demand.
As someone involved in housing policy for over 50 years can I ask for help?
In what way does this Government “new initiative” increase housing supply or enable more affordable home purchase? – Yours ,etc,
GREG MAXWELL,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.
Pension overpayments
Sir, – Minister Jack Chambers, in commenting on the overpayments and underpayments of pensions to politicians and retired civil servants, notes that the errors arose from administrative errors in the National Shared Services Office and were not the fault of any of the individuals impacted (“Ministers may owe thousands due to pension errors”, June 11th).
This is fair enough. All the same, if I were a retired senior civil servant who had been overpaid €280,000 in my pension I think I might have suspected something was amiss. – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
The bugle sounds again
Sir, – Frank McNally’s Irishman’s Diary of June 11th, which referenced a fox-hunting story in Wexford that had unwelcome consequences, reminded me of one from my childhood that had a more benign outcome.
The Bree Hunt (also in Wexford) usually chased foxes in our area after Christmas and into early Spring.
The hunt leader /hound master (usually in a red coat) controlled the dogs by way of a bugle.
Now as it happened one year, my brothers and I got toy bugles from Santa. When the hunt came our way shortly after Christmas, we thought it would be fun to blow our bugles to see how things might work out.
As the hounds were in full chase of a fox on our neighbour’s land we struck up a cacophony that diverted the pack to our farmyard.
The agitated hound master followed and, fearing the worst, we hid in the barn.
He remonstrated with my father who just shrugged and pointed in the direction that the hounds had taken. As the Red Coat took off with expletives filling the air, my father strolled up the yard, hands behind his back and a little smile on his face.
The episode was not mentioned again for years!! – Yours, etc,
PATRICK HOWLIN.
Milltown,
Dublin 14,
Sustainable energy supply
Sir, – Eamon Ryan makes the obvious and valid point that Ireland needs an energy supply that is sustainable, competitive and secure.
He is also correct to state that the government’s recent decision to proceed with a State -owned floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility is wrong, based on cost, delivery and that it will drive up methane emissions. (“We don’t need a liquid natural gas facility. There is a better way”, June 10th).
Because of the real risk in depending on the two subsea gas pipes from Scotland providing 80 per cent of our natural gas, he suggests building two more from Britain which of course would be hugely expensive and equally exposed to malicious or accidental damage.
Crucially, Britain’s gas supply is decreasing, and the Labour party policy is to reduce oil and gas production even further.
Mr Ryan also suggests building more battery storage which at best will provide short term backup supply and given the increasingly prolonged becalmed weather patterns, will be totally inadequate.
According to Eirgrid daily wind data (smartgriddashboard.com), over the last seven weeks or so, very little electricity was produced by wind, averaging only around 10 GWh per day.
The increasing unreliability of wind power is a major problem which must be acknowledged and addressed in a serious and urgent manner. While it may not please Mr Ryan, the only long-term solution in the circumstances is to rely on relatively clean natural gas as backup to ensure our economy and society with sustainable, cost effective and secure supply.
And better again, to have our own native natural gas supply as proposed in a formal policy statement by the Irish government in 2019.
Mr Ryan fails to mention two distinctly possible solutions.
One is to advance and facilitate the gas field at InishKea near Corrib just off the Mayo coast, and urgently reassess and invest in the vast potential of the independently proven oil and gas field at Barryroe, just off the Cork coast, which as energy minister, he closed in 2023.
Development of these fields will provide Ireland with complete independence for decades to come as we move slowly to install more renewables.
Significantly, it will eliminate our dependence on expensive, unreliable imported supplies and substantially reduce Ireland’s carbon footprint.
The other alternative is to investigate small modern nuclear reactors currently being developed by companies such as Rolls Royce and Westinghouse. – Yours, etc,
JOHN LEAHY,
Wilton Road,
Cork.
Voluntary hospitals
Sir, – A recent editorial in The Irish Times suggested that Ireland’s voluntary hospitals are somehow opaque, or structurally flawed. This characterisation is not only unfair – it is also demonstrably inaccurate.
Voluntary hospitals are governed by independent boards with deep clinical, governance, and financial expertise. They are subject to robust State oversight – through HIQA, HSE service arrangements, the Department of Health and the Charities Regulator. Far from diminishing accountability, this structure enhances it, ensuring stronger scrutiny and longer-term stewardship.
These hospitals have been at the forefront of Irish healthcare for generations – from the first transplant surgery in 1963 to pioneering clinical trials today. Last year alone, they provided care to nearly two million patients.
When serious failings occur in healthcare, they have profound and deeply human consequences. They deserve full accountability and urgent reform. Thanks to external and independent governance, serious issues in voluntary hospitals are rare – and when they arise, they are more likely to be identified and addressed.
It would be wrong to let questions arising in one context undermine confidence in an entire sector.
The work of dozens of institutions, hundreds of board members and thousands of healthcare professionals should not be diminished by generalisations that overlook the strength, accountability and enduring value of the voluntary hospital model.
Voluntary hospitals are not a vulnerability in the system. They are among its greatest strengths. –Yours etc.,
MO FLYNN,
Chief executive,
Irish Voluntary Healthcare Association,
Dublin.
Department name change
Sir, – On behalf of the board of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann, we wish to voice our opposition to the changing of the name of the “Department Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media” to the “Department of Culture, Communication and Sport”.
PEN is an organisation of writers and while we appreciate that the new name is more concise, the dropping of the word “Arts” from the title is a diminishing of the special role of the arts and artists in Irish society.
Our culture and the arts are two distinct parts of our national identity, and both words deserve inclusion in the Department name.
Although the Department may continue to fund and support the arts in practice, removing the word from its name sends a troubling message: that the arts are no longer considered worthy of explicit recognition.
As an all-island organisation, we also note with disappointment the removal of the word “Gaeltacht” from the department name.
Ireland’s writers, artists, performers, and creators have long been celebrated both at home and abroad as essential to our cultural fabric. We urge the Government to reconsider this change and restore the rightful place of the arts in the Department’s name.– Yours, etc.
Liz McManus and
Pádraig Hanratty
Co-chairs, Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann,
Co Louth.
A novel way of reading Ulysses
Sir, – Maggie Armstrong’s approach to reading Ulysses at the rate of six pages per night lead to her understandable title: (“Reading Ulysses can completely suck the life out of you and your family” June 11th).
An approach that worked perfectly for me was firstly to read a significant amount about the book before embarking on reading it.
Secondly, I decided to only read the book when I was in front of a computer screen. Unfamiliar words or phrases, people or places were immediately Googled.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the rabbit holes I went down and was never concerned about reaching the end of the book by a particular deadline.
I can recommend this method if you want to have a gratifying experience. – Yours, etc,
JOE DUNNE,
Cork.
Sir, – Ray Burke’s Irishman’s Diary on book censorship made me think of my Dad. He read Ulysses wrapped in brown paper back in the 1930s when it was banned.
He raised his eyebrows when my brother told him it was on his course in UCD in the 1960s and raised them even more when I told him it was on my recommended reading list for my Leaving Cert in 1970.
I still haven’t finished it! – Yours, etc,
GRÁINNE MEYER,
Germany.
Public transport fit for purpose
Sir, – Recent letter writers noted the lack of courtesy on public transport as they use the free travel pass, available to the over 66s. I prefer to reframe.
I’m fit enough to use the service, most passengers are still in the workforce, paying their fare, more have small children, lugging buggies and shopping. I’m a bit chuffed when I don’t appear to to be in need of their pre-paid spot.
There are designated seats for those more frail and, in time, when I’m in need , I’ll use my voice.
Until then, I’m not proud. Any offer of a seat is always accepted. – Yours, etc,
NUALA GALLAGHER,
Dublin 15
