Sir, – It’s hard to disagree with David McWilliams’s assertion that the “centralisation of Dublin in the Republic and Belfast in the North” has created an imbalance that should be positively redressed by developing the western seaboard of Ireland (“Ireland is ‘dangerously lopsided’. Galway and Limerick are essential to its future”, Opinion, Weekend, September 21st). Clearly, it’s vital to move away from growth in the west based solely on what he refers to as “trad and lobster”.
But, as someone who has been a frequent adult visitor to the West for over 55 years, I’d also argue that it’s important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The essential quality of that part of Ireland is, as the term “Wild Atlantic Way” emphasises, its unspoilt quality.
Getting the balance right won’t be easy. – Yours, etc,
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THEO J SCHULTE,
Cambridge, UK.
A chara, – David McWilliams seems to suggest that there is a link between Irish unity and economic development of the west. It is not clear why this would be the case, as the predicted problems and suggested solutions already exist.
Unity will not change the fact that Ireland’s economic strength has long been heavily concentrated along the eastern coast. Unity has never been necessary for us to invest in better public transport, housing, and infrastructure all along the Atlantic coast, which has been under Dáil Éireann’s control since 1922. If anything, unity seems as though it would make such investment less likely, by introducing a large and vocal northern contingent to the Dáil and significantly diluting the votes of western TDs in the process.
David McWilliams lauds the spatial planning of the Netherlands, whose model of balanced and carefully-guided regional development provides a worthy template for Ireland. However, the Dutch did not plan on the basis of reunification of their country with Belgium, or even just with Flanders. They planned within their own borders, based on the territory and economic factors they controlled.
Unity is as unlikely to come to pass in the next 10 years as it was a century ago. Rather than planning on the basis of “likely unification”, we should plan as though Northern Ireland had sunk into the ocean. That seems a much more realistic way of rapidly rebalancing our economy and delivering the greatest possible prosperity to the people of the 26 counties that are within our borders, rather than continuing our century-long obsession with the six that are not. – Is mise,
RUÁN Ó CRUALAOICH,
Douglas,
Cork.
Sir, – David McWilliams waxes lyrical about the untapped potential of the West of Ireland in his Last Word column. He focuses, however, almost exclusively, on Limerick and Galway, with the “South” getting only an honourable mention.
While he should be commended for highlighting the imbalance between the east and west coasts, the northwest of the country doesn’t even get a look-in.
Westport, Ballina, Sligo, Donegal and Derry are left out of the mix, even while he alludes to the prospect of a united Ireland.
We had a golden opportunity, as a result of remote working rolled out during Covid, to have a second attempt at decentralisation in this country. However, despite all the hype and millions spent, we have utterly failed once again. Economic and infrastructural imbalances are likely to persist as a result. – Yours, etc,
PADDY SHARKEY,
Kilcar,
Co Donegal.