Could 2024 be a turning point for Ireland?

EDITOR – I have read that 2024 could be the turning point in world greenhouse gas emissions. World production of renewable energy sources is set to surpass the growth in world energy demand, for the first time.

New world solar energy sources are said to increase by 14%, new wind energy sources by 10%.

With proper planning, Ireland could be a net exporter of energy, given our position on the west coast of Europe. With new expanded renewable energy production and distribution, private electric car fleets could be powered by green energy.

Even in eastern Asia, China –which is responsible for more carbon emissions than the USA and Russia combined – is mass producing solar panels, and solar farms. Change comes incrementally.

Michael Hallissey,
Mayfield,
Bandon.

 Who are the real terrorists these days?

EDITOR – For hundreds of years people of various religions managed to live in relative calm in the area known as the Holy Land.

Then, during the administration of the area known as Palestine, by Britain, under mandate from the League of Nations, ‘terrorist’ activities began. These terrorists assassinated Count Bernadotte, the United Nations representative to the area, while he was travelling with an Israeli army convoy, in 1948.

Some of those terrorists went on to become Israeli government ministers and one a prime minister. Perhaps it’s time to look, objectively, at the real terrorists in the region.

Michael A Moriarty,
Rochestown.

Leaders pay lip service to human rights in Holy Land

EDITOR – While the people of Ireland look on in abject horror at the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, our leaders pay lip service to support for human rights and peace with justice in the Holy Land.

What Mr Varadkar can and must do is forbid permission for US warplanes landing at Shannon which are carrying armaments, death and destruction, from the US to Tel Aviv. Mr Varadkar can also reverse his party’s stance and remove his objection to the Occupied Territories Bill.

Fine Gael’s fear that it may breach EU rules should be set aside in this awful circumstance. We would have other EU governments’ support in any future challenge from Brussels. I am sure Mr Martin will also agree this is the ‘optimal time’ to enact the bill in Ireland.

Our government’s stand against the Israeli-US mass barbaric killing of defenceless Palestinians would have universal support and would also improve the present public perception of weak and spineless leaders.

Daniel Teegan,
Union Hall.

All I wanted for Christmas was decent broadband

EDITOR – So this is Christmas, and what have you done, another year over and a new one just begun, is my John Lennon-inspired question to National Broadband Ireland (NBI).

In November 2019, when the contract was signed for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) connection targets were puffed up while gung-ho language was spoken to say that this project will be driven like witches who could not be burned. Oh, the innocence.

Rural communities are being told broadband connection dates that do not reflect the critical need for digital connectivity for business, work and personal reasons.

In 2023, in my townland in Co Waterford, nothing was done to given fibre broadband a rural home. NBI has stamped my area with a pending survey notice which means engineers have yet to start looking over ditches to see if the relevant wiring infrastructure can be installed.

To speed up this process, I did my own survey and found that I am a five-minute drive to a main road, surrounded by more telephone poles than a +48 telephone directory, and with no landscape obstacles.

Based on these factors, but devoid of any engineering nous, I hold the view that a fibre broadband connection to my house and my neighbours could be run up in a day’s work. A NBI website progress check tells me that my townland remains at ‘pending survey’ level and an expected date of connection is a vague date range of January 2026-December 2026. In other words, don’t wait in.

The location of your living space or workspace should not be a barrier to function in an e-society. The provision of fibre broadband in Ireland is a history written with promise ink, dipped in an inkwell of a lack of ambition and delivery.

To reflect the views of rural residents, a rewording of the John Lennon slogan makes a slow digital plea to NBI: Dial-up is over, fibre broadband is available if you want it, and yes, we do want it.

John Tierney,
Kilmacthomas,
Co. Waterford.

Our emigrants were a credit to Ireland

EDITOR – Last week over 14,500 were declared homeless in our country, out of that figure 4,000 were children. It’s a real crisis and should take top priority for our leaders. All we get from our ministers and leaders is the standard answer ‘we are legally obliged’.

I feel they should stop all migration coming into our country as we have more than enough to cope with. After all, we are only a small country with agriculture the backbone of our economy.

If the present situation continues, our economy, health services, education, and other services will all be affected. We do not have the proper infrastructure to cope.

We should remember our own people who emigrated to the USA, Great Britain and other countries. They got no handouts, hotel accommodation etc. They worked hard for themselves and their families and bought and built their own homes in their adopted countries.

They were a credit to Ireland. Our leaders should make a stand and deal first and foremost with our homeless people and put our own crisis first.

Jeremiah McCarthy,
Tawnies Grove,
Clonakilty.