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The dangers of groupthink

Sir, – Breda O’Brien posed a number of important questions about citizens’ assemblies (“Do citizens’ assemblies offer the public a stake or just more liberal groupthink?”, Opinion & Analysis, June 25th).

How can 99 citizens “chosen randomly” reading endless reports and listening to chosen experts encompass the views of about five million people in a functioning democracy?

Will this type of process lead to politicians accepting without question what they are presented with, rather than listening to the views of the general public?

– Yours, etc,

ALICE LEAHY,

Director of Services,

Alice Leahy Trust,

Link: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/2023/06/27/the-dangers-of-groupthink/

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How do we solve the housing crisis?

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The recently released April 2023 Homeless Report, reveals a distressing milestone as the number of individuals in emergency accommodation surpasses 12,000 for the first time. Engaging in a discussion is Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland, shedding light on the organisation’s efforts to address homelessness, Alice Leahy, Director of Services at the Alice Leahy Trust, sharing her invaluable insights from years of working with the homeless population, and Paul Murphy, People Before Profit TD for Dublin South-West, offers a political perspective on tackling the housing crisis.

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The need for public showers

A degree of dignity for people whose living conditions are beyond description

Sir, – When the Alice Leahy Trust made a submission for public showers to Dublin City Council in 2006, it was covered by The Irish Times. We have highlighted the need for public showers and toilets at every opportunity since then, to no avail. No one could foresee at that time what was facing us. The war in Ukraine and increasing numbers of people arriving here seeking protection has led to a lot of people sleeping on our streets and in tents. This is at a time when we hear that vast sums of money remain unspent in some Government departments.

The hard work of our Government and the people of our country must be acknowledged.

The provision of well-run showers and toilets, not just in our capital city, would help to ensure some degree of dignity would be afforded to people whose living conditions are beyond description, and would help those who are struggling to care for them.

Surely it must be possible to divert some finance, even a small portion, to provide such a basic need? – Yours, etc,

ALICE LEAHY,

Director of Services,

Alice Leahy Trust ,

Dublin 8.

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Cars and getting from A to B

Sir, – Michael McDowell writes: “There seems to be a vogue for condemning everyone who doesn’t share your opinion as being morally reprehensible”.

While focusing on the issue of cars, it’s worth noting that this too could be said about many issues in today’s society and has been noticeable for some time. This doesn’t make for the healthy debate that is now more important than ever and devalues our democracy. – Yours, etc,

ALICE LEAHY,

Director of Services,

Alice Leahy Trust,

Dublin 8.