Category: Letters to the Irish Times

Sir, – Few people would be surprised to see the massive rise in the prescribing of antidepressants. The daily stress experienced by so many people is tangible.

The pain of living for some people is unbearable, and the only hope of relief for many is a prescription from a GP.

GPs can struggle to find appropriate services to refer people on to for support.

Professionals have told us they can often find themselves accused of “wasting time with people” if not adhering to time limits, generally set up by those with questionable experience in the value of human contact.

This too we now hear is creeping into the NGO and voluntary sectors, with pressure on them to meet targets to get funding.

This certainly will have consequences for many vulnerable people and those attempting to care for them.

The late Tony Gill who lived on the streets was known to us for many years and rests now in our burial plot in Glasnevin.

He once wrote: “Today I spoke to no one, And nobody spoke to me. Am I dead?”

With those simple words he certainly captured a sign of the times we are living in. – Yours, etc,

ALICE

LEAHY,

Director of Services,

Alice Leahy Trust,

Dublin 8.

“Have we humans always been so hateful to each other?” Justine McCarthy asks, a powerful question that should be asked nationwide at all levels(“Contempt is coming from the top down”, comment, last week).
The level of disrespect being shown to people in all walks of life is breathtaking when walking along the streets, shopping, on the buses or attempting to get service. It is even likely that road traffic accidents would decline if the simple word “respect” was practised.
The widespread use of crude language to get a point across is particularly unnecessary. Watching Dail “debates” has become painful and inspires little confidence, a real problem for our cherished democracy. This is a place where a good example should be shown. Tv and radio debates also leave much to be desired at times.
McCarthy’s article should be read widely. Maybe it would be a first step to making us nicer people.

Alice Leahy
Director of Services
Alice Leahy Trust

Sir, – At last Dublin City Council has budgeted €200,000 for two public toilets in a location yet to be decided on (Olivia Kelly, “Public toilets in pipeline for city centre after 20-year absence”, News, November 20th).

Isn’t it amazing that this decision should make headlines?

The Irish Times should take some credit for this decision following on its Weekend Review feature “Capital Ideas – 10 ideas for improving Dublin’s infrastructure, economy and daily life” (November 20th).

The Letters Page has raised the issue many times over the years. For publishing my plea for this issue to be addressed, I would like to say thank you. It’s been a long wait. – Yours, etc,

ALICE LEAHY,

Director of Services,

Alice Leahy Trust,

Dublin 8.

Sir, – The former public toilets on Kevin Street will be brought back into use as a café “as soon as practical” (News, November 5th). Should Dublin City Council not see fit to invest in this much-needed facility there must be a business concern with the foresight to see that public toilet facilities are required in our capital city. The business could then hand it back to be run by Dublin City Council. I noticed recently in the UK budget that there was tax relief for public lavatories. My submission in The Irish Times last Saturday regarding 10 big ideas to make Dublin better includes a description of how Paris provides public toilets staffed by friendly municipal workers. If Paris can do it, what is stopping us from doing it? – Yours, etc,

ALICE LEAHY,

Director of Services,

Alice Leahy Trust,

Dublin 8.