Open Letter To Sen. O Brolochan

galway | environment | opinion/analysis Sunday October 17, 2010 01:26 by donkylemore - self donmacnamara at hotmail dot com

GREEN PARTY LETHARGY - BIODIVERSITY

Having written 6 times to sen o brolochan and not having had one response i wrote this letter and had it published in a local paper

Open letter to Sen Niall O Brolchain E-mail
Wednesday, 06 October 2010

Dear Senator,
I have now written to you on at least six occasions. Initially to confirm whether our Minister for Environment had missed his opportunity to make Ireland’s submission during the prescribed time during 2010, which was declared the International Year of Biodiversity.

I tired of waiting for a response from you and finally wrote to Brussels to confirm that, yes indeed Ireland was late in making a submission. That this omission should happen under the Green Minister is of grave concern.

I have since written to Minister Gormley for his observations on this matter; twice to no avail, needless to remark. As a life long angler, I am anxiously confronted with the prospect of presiding over a dying lake. I have enjoyed fly fishing all my life. I live now in the imminent dread that mine will be the last generation to have fly fished on Lough Corrib.

In emphasising the degree of my concern, I have put my speed boat at your disposal and also at the minister’s disposal, (and of up to four of his party.) I have assured them that I would pick them up at any point on the lake shore, give them a complete tour of the areas where concern for the lake’s biodiversity is most keenly observed, and return them again to the point of departure within three hours. I have not even received an acknowledgement of this offer.

I could, perhaps understandably, develop the tempting impression and suggest that yours was a less than enthusiastic response but I’ll refrain. I could imply that you and the Greens are imaginatively constipated, but I’ll desist. I might infer that your preference is for paralysis over dynamism, but I won’t. I might be tempted to think of you and the Greens as not alone being colour blind but environmentally myopic, but I’ll offer it up.

You did, to my utter consternation, suggest to me that you/Greens had broken the process of organising the construction of the sewage treatment plant in Oughterard from 20 steps down to 12. And forgive me if I got a sense of your hubris from this monumental achievement.

The Greens don’t let the grass grow under their feet, no sir! Paragons of expedient imperative action, Napoleon or indeed Batman, spring to mind. Given your tardiness in replying to my earlier queries, I did condense these original eight down to two.

1 - When will the work on the sewage treatment plant in Oughterard commence?

2 - What funding has been secured for the amelioration of the proliferation of the larga syphon pond weed for the coming year and the following year?

But this too elicited not a word from you in these past six months . As the season has now passed and my boat insurance has expired for the year, I am afraid that I am no longer in a position to offer you the boat trip, but you could make your own arrangements if indeed you were bothered to do so. I really have wondered all this time just what the Greens are all about. From the soaring oratory of your leader Gormley-Meets Mc Dowell - The Rumble in Ranelagh; Senator Gogarty’s “parliamentary language” to deputy Stack; Mr Boyle’s twittering like a butterfly; Minister Ryan’s motorway through the New Grange; Mr Sergeants inappropriate communiqué with an Garda … And I come to the conclusion that the Greens are indeed a colourful bunch, but there is a more inescapable conclusion.

It is my impression that the Greens are singularly and devotedly about…well, no, let’s retain the genteel tenure here and say the Greens are about the excrement of the male cow. Then again, manure whatever its source serves a useful purpose!

Sincerely.

Don Mac Namara,