A chara, – Reading Michael McDowell’s recent article on the slow pace of delivery of projects in Dublin, one can only feel deeply frustrated (“Radical change is needed to make Dublin a liveable city”, Opinion & Analysis, January 11th).
It is striking that there is no real political accountability for delays and other issues regarding delivery of housing and public transport projects in our cities.
One possible solution would be to enhance the role of local government, such as a directly elected mayor who could take ownership of projects such as the MetroLink, as opposed to outsourcing responsibility to various government bodies.
In Bordeaux, for example, the city underwent a much-needed rejuvenation over a 20-year period, which included delivery of several new tramlines, in part because there was political will and accountability at a local level to get this done.
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Ireland is one of the most centralised countries in Europe, and with no one to hold politically responsible for project failures and delays, it is hardly surprising that our cities are much further behind their European peers in terms of basic public housing and transport infrastructure. – Is mise,
NIALL FITZGERALD,
Ringsend,
Dublin 4.
