Your editorial on the nurses’ strike and what you call ‘the appalling mess of Ireland’s ailing health service’ reminded me of the totally opposite sentiments which were expressed in the Irish media during the height of the boom.

It was in November 1997 that the Oireachtas appointed the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments but it is abundantly clear, following the RTÉ exposé, that the legacy of this painstaking and costly 15-year inquiry has neither eliminated corruption from the planning process; given clarity to the basic ethical standards expected of public office holders or inspired confidence in the integrity of the planning system.

You are to be congratulated for your excellent coverage of the flooding on the west bank of the River Shannon down stream of Killaloe.

The ‘skill set’ of politicians has been demonstrated clearly by this government and by the previous one.

Some exceptional weather and global warming may genuinely have increased frequency of serious flooding in Ireland but some of this is likely our own doing.