Clare and Limerick politicians can’t back the routing of the Limerick Northern Distributor Road (a substantial dual-carriageway) through several hundred acres of flood prone lands and then express shock and horror that the communities on both banks of the River Shannon have been covered in four feet of water since December 11.

In the coming months we will hear the complaints of farmers whose lands and livelihoods have been devastated by the flooding of recent weeks.

If ever there was an example of why those still living in Ireland have learnt nothing from the crash the court case taken by hospital consultants provides all the answers.

On December 9, I reported my parents phone line not working. They are in their 70s and living in a fairly rural area.

When one reads the incisive analysis of the 1985 Dunne’s Stores strike (Irish Examiner, January 1), it reveals the full extent of former Taoiseach, John Bruton’s fluid and self-serving analysis of global politics.

One headline, Irish Examiner, December 2015: “Coalition disagrees on right to die”.

Paul Feeney is correct (Letters, January 1 ), when he says follow the money for an explanation of the destruction wreaked on the Middle East since 2003.