Letters to the Editor: Dublin car-ban plans need the goodwill of businesses

Wed, 10 May, 2023 - 02:00

Dublin City Council’s plans to permanently ban private cars from College Green from May 29, while welcome, must involve meaningful engagement with local businesses to avoid a repeat of difficulties experienced in other parts of the city centre during the transition.

Dublin Town, the collective voice of businesses in Dublin City centre, warns that practical difficulties arise for businesses when vehicles are removed from a location, including problems with deliveries, waste collection and sanitation, as well as access for utility providers and construction teams.

We say the transition to a low-vehicle environment, and the required 50% reduction in transport-related emissions, will be achieved more effectively and efficiently with the confidence and goodwill of businesses.

Our collective, which works with our 2,500 members to create a better city experience for everyone, believes a rapid shift in thinking by city-centre businesses is already driving responsible corporate and customer behaviour.

However, the difficulties experienced when Capel St became traffic-free in 2022 led to businesses in other parts of the city becoming sceptical about the process and withdrawing support for a ban on private cars.

But potential problems can be solved if proposals are discussed and concerns addressed before they are announced.

We anticipate significant change as to how business will be conducted in Dublin City centre in the coming years as we move to net zero.

This will require investment in retrofitting and in renewable energy by businesses which will be best achieved if there is trust and confidence that the process is inclusive.

Richard Guiney Chief executive
Dublin Town

HSE pay premium price in Midleton

With reference to your article — ‘After 11 months, Midleton still waits for team promised to establish mental health unit’ ( Irish Examiner, online, May 1) regarding the establishment of a mental health unit in the community in Midleton, I would like to make two observations.

Firstly, Lauriston is not “prone” to flooding as referenced. The flooding in Lauriston in December/January 2015-16 was fluvial in nature and had not happened before in living memory. Yes, it was substantial, but its cause was separate to the flooding the town of Midleton has suffered. ARUP was appointed by Cork County Council to investigate both, and substantial reports can be accessed on the Midleton Flood Relief Scheme website.

Given the warning signs we ignored in the weeks before the flooding, but are now very much aware and allow for the council to take action well in advance, I would not expect Lauriston to flood again in the future, especially given there is a relatively low-cost, easy-to-implement solution proposed by ARUP.

Secondly, and perhaps the more important point here would be, the premium price paid for a house that has been rented for more than the last 10 years with little to no renovation done on it. The Property Price Register records a house selling for €448,500 on March 24 and also shows a larger house in similar condition merely 30m away in the estate that sold for €310,000 on November 18, 2022. A house a few doors down sold in 2020 for €345,000 and was in showroom condition from top to bottom.

I live in Lauriston, welcome the establishment of a community mental health unit, and would love to know the decision-making process behind what appears to a substantially overpriced purchase by the HSE.

Rory Curtin Midleton
Co Cork

Wine labelling will reduce Irish market

In response to Sheila Gilheany of Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) — ‘Spin on the bottle must be countered’ (Irish Examiner, Letters, April 27) — when discussing the proposed labelling regulations of wine, citing the effects of extreme alcohol misuse is neither helpful nor relevant.

The drinks industry does not support alcohol misuse and remains committed to working with Government to continue the positive trajectory of reducing alcohol misuse. It is in the sector’s best interest to do so.

The poll referenced by AAI which concluded that 72% of people agree with the measures was commissioned by the organisation itself — about which readers can draw their own conclusions — and did not ask any questions about the new restrictions proposed, only if respondents agreed that warnings should be placed on alcohol products. Such self-fulfilling questions are often designed to lead to only one answer.

The reality is that the proposed labelling regulations will undermine the single EU market, damage the reputation of the Irish market, and ultimately reduce choice as smaller vineyards and drinks producers pull out of Ireland. These concerns apply to a far broader cohort of the Irish public who enjoy a drink responsibly.

The logic remains that Ireland works with the EU on its plans for a harmonised approach.

Cormac Healy Drinks Ireland
Ibec
Lower Baggot St, Dublin 2

Historic fear of computer control

Geoffrey Hinton, now retired at 75, has been described as the ‘godfather of AI’.

Clearly the former Google employee is fearful of the future implications for the world and does not want to be associated with this scenario.

The above reminds me of when Henry Ford & Son, Cork, were introducing the computer in 1970 and a memo was circulated to management committee members for opinions of feasibility of same.

My immediate boss Maurice O’Flynn, RIP, truck sales manager, wrote: “I maintain that this machine will eventually sack the man who invented it”. Food for thought.

Grey Muldowney Shandon
Cork

Patient safety very often put at risk

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has told the Dáil the health service is on its knees, saying there are not enough beds in the system and not enough people to staff them. Given that over 65% of nurses in the INMO wellbeing survey say that patient safety was put at risk very often, then you could say that she has a point.

The Taoiseach admitted that there is a chronic problem with accident and emergency overcrowding and people have to wait too long for medical procedures. He went on to say that 6,000 medical staff, including nurses and doctors, have also been recruited since 2020. However, despite this increase in recruitment the problems persist, so it is clearly only touching the sides.

Recently a 92-year-old family member had to be admitted to Beaumont Hospital following a fall at home. She spent 27 hours on a trolley in the emergency department. And she was one of the lucky ones.

We were allowed to stay with her to assist with eating and drinking. There were trolleys everywhere and staff were under severe pressure. That is unsustainable and it is not safe practice for anyone.

At the same time, the local population in the catchment area is growing exponentially as apartment towers spring up in Dublin Bay North. Healthcare needs are increasing accordingly. So whilst the Taoiseach might gloat that recruitment levels are at an all-time high, the reality is that it is reactive and not proactive, and certainly does not adequately respond to the healthcare needs of my area and many others across the country.

What is very clear is that Ms McDonald is right and if 65% of nurses who work on the coalface tell us that patient safety is put at risk very often — if not always — then we need to sit up and pay attention and not make excuses or make attempts to justify or defend inadequate Government policy, which seems to be the preserve of our current Taoiseach.

Killian Brennan Malahide Road
Dublin 17