England and Wales decreased their prison populations after Britain’s Labour government came to power.
Why isn’t our Government following suit? Why are we less progressive than our former colonial neighbour?
Those convicted of minor drug possession, minor road traffic offences and public order offences should be freed after serving half their sentence.
We need to cut out the vindictive attitude in the Government and especially within the Department of Justice.
Paul Doran, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
More lives will be saved if we give gardaí ability to properly police our roads
As the Government legislates for stricter enforcement and penalties regarding the use of scrambler bikes, nothing can bring Grace Lynch back to her family.
While government and garda authorities restrict frontline gardaí from engaging in pursuits – and as long as gardaí are left to fear that they and not the offender could end up in the dock as a result of such instances – further tragedies will occur.
Policing is becoming reactionary and more concerned with political optics than it is with the rule of law.
We need to call on the authorities, and those in Garda HQ, to remove the handcuffs that hamper proper traffic enforcement that would reduce tragedies like this.
If we are serious about preventing tragedies like the one in which 16-year-old Grace lost her life, then let’s stop scapegoating frontline gardaí – they must be allowed to take decisive action to protect the public.
People who endanger the lives of others in public places should not be treated as victims while those who risk their lives face prosecution for taking what they believed was the correct action to protect the public from these menaces.
An increased number of gardaí in traffic enforcement, not just on bank holiday weekends, would also be beneficial.
Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
We don’t need a full week of romantic gestures – one day sates all our desires
May I offer a small word of guidance to younger readers attempting to navigate what is now being touted as Valentine’s Week.
In my day, Valentine’s Day was a single event: one card, possibly a box of chocolates, maybe a carnation from the petrol station if things were going well.
The marathon now begins on February 7 with Rose Day, followed by Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day, Promise Day, Hug Day and finally Kiss Day, before everyone collapses gratefully into Valentine’s Day itself.
In theory, this is all very romantic. In practice, by midweek the roses are wilting, the chocolates are melting, the teddy bears are looking faintly accusatory and everyone smells of cocoa, damp petals and emotional over-commitment.
My advice is simple: pace yourselves. Love does not benefit from a strict timetable. Promises made on Promise Day should ideally last longer than the roses from day one.
Affection is rarely improved by exhaustion. Romance doesn’t need a full working week. It needs sincerity, moderation and occasionally a window left open.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran road, Armagh
A divided nation, even when it comes to planting and butchering of trees
How ironic, the day after you carried a headline “Volunteers needed to plant 3,000 trees on one of Wicklow’s iconic hills”, you publish a letter with the heading “Protect our trees from the reckless cutting that only creates roadside eyesores” (Letters, February 5).
One can only agree with your correspondent, Katie Condon, regarding what she calls “this butchering of trees” during the hedge-cutting “season”. Why do we continue to appear to be a nation of two halves, in every respect?
Peter Declan O’Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan
If only Irish bookies took a friendlier approach to big races, like Italy’s Palio
On a recent visit to Siena in Italy, I discovered that the winner of the Palio bareback horse race is the first horse past the post, regardless of whether the rider has been unceremoniously ditched during the course of the race.
Had this ruling applied to my humble punts over the years, my profit-and-loss balance with various turf accountants would have shown a healthier return,
Tony Wallace, Longwood, Co Meath
Some savvy measures can be implemented to stem Ireland’s flood destruction
The photos in your paper and on the TV of families in their flooded homes in Co Wexford and Co Wicklow and elsewhere are heartbreaking.
Flood defences are very expensive, but must be funded and expedited in these areas. However, there are simpler and cheaper things that can be done to help reduce flood risk elsewhere as climate breakdown worsens.
These include a scheme to pay farmers for the deliberate creation of swales on their land for holding excess water and slowing the speed of swollen rivers.
Proposed drainage schemes need to be re-examined. Flood impact assessments must be carried out to see where vulnerable areas lie and measures must be taken to slow water velocity in the event that drainage goes ahead.
Our planners need to stop giving permission for homes, however badly needed, on sites that have been known to flood, and then looking to expensive engineering solutions to try to hold back the waters.
It may not be a very popular proposal, but we need to immediately ban the insane fashion of ripping up all the grass in our gardens and replacing it with paving or brick.
Sean Kirwan, Bray, Co Wicklow
Blackrock abuse victim’s meeting with Pope Leo was heartening occasion
As a past student of Willow Park and Blackrock College in the 1960s, I was delighted to hear about David Ryan’s meeting with Pope Leo.
David and his late brother, Mark, bravely recounted their horrific sexual abuse ordeals in RTÉ’s 2022 radio documentary Blackrock Boys, which gave many more victims the courage to come forward. I sincerely wish David every happiness for the future.
Brian McDevitt, Glenties, Co Donegal