Sir, - On page 6 of your edition of January 8th,you carry a report that the EU commission is suing Ireland because the State has failed to protect the red grouse through allowing overgrazing by sheep in the Owenduff/Nephin Beg area in Co Mayo.
On the next page you have an article pondering why parts of the midlands and west are suffering from floods.
Is there any connection between the two events?
To my mind and - I think to any one who has seen the devastation caused by over-grazing - the connection is quite clear. Maybe you should ask the inhabitants of Bangor Erris - or any other townland that has suffered the awful affects of flash floods - where the blame for this lies.
Am I wrong in thinking that the Government or the EU encouraged farmers to keep sheep by paying them headage payments and now the Office of Public Works is being asked to spend millions on drainage works that every one knows will have no long-lasting benefit? - Yours, etc.,
John L. Gageby, Riversdale Avenue, Dublin 6.