Letters: Why Irish weather warnings are getting lost in translation
Last weekend’s Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll captured it neatly. Met Éireann enjoys high general trust, yet when it mattered most, nearly half of respondents felt the public were not adequately warned. That is not a forecasting failure so much as a translation failure.Colour-coded alerts were designed for simplicity, but simplicity becomes distortion when context is stripped away. A Yellow warning after weeks of saturated ground does not mean what a Yellow warning means in August. Citizens intuitively grasp this; the system, as currently designed, does not.The lesson is not that people distrust expertise. This is not the case. The lesson is that modern risk is cumulative and local, while our warning systems remain episodic and national. Flooding is no longer about a single storm, it is about what came before it.Unless warnings evolve towards impact-based, place-specific messaging, governments will keep tightening emergency powers and fast-tracking infrastructure to compensate for a credibility gap upstream. In other words, we will pour concrete where clearer communication might have reduced damage in the first place.When trust is high, but satisfaction is low, the problem is rarely science. It is design.Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, ArmaghRTÉ staff punished for mistakes of the pastMadam — Claire Byrne’s interview with Niamh Horan (‘I didn’t understand why I deserved to have my salary capped’, February 1) was insightful, not just about RTÉ, but organisations generally.RTÉ has tightened control after previous leaders allowed presenters and their agents to overplay the system, paying them for work they did not do for RTÉ at one extreme.Now the organisation has flipped to total control. Take Byrne’s example of having to fill in forms before doing a pro bono charity gig. It is understandable, but it is an overcorrection. They will not be able to retain or attract the best people if they stay like that.To become more responsive again, RTÉ needs to loosen control. It could start by stopping the infringement of people’s rights to do what they want in their own time, as long as it does not undermine the organisation.They can issue guidelines and advice on this and deal with breaches after they happen, but they need to trust their people more and not allow past mistakes to dictate how they deal with the rest of their staff.Kevin Kelly, Bettystown, Co MeathSpilling the beans a bad look for ByrneMadam — I was disappointed to read last weekend’s interview with Claire Byrne. We all know RTÉ has had huge issues in the past couple of years after the overpayment scandal, the breakdown in public trust and a considerable loss of licence fee money, but I was shocked that she would air her dirty laundry in public like that.She may have been treated less favourably than other presenters, and I would never condone that, but she should be counting her lucky stars.She has had an amazing career, has the luxury now of nobody knowing her salary and she can do as many private gigs as she wants with no scrutiny. How many people have the opportunity to publicly criticise the employer that made their name while walking into a very well-paid new job?I always found Byrne to be dignified, professional and a very skilled interviewer. She didn’t seem the type to spill the beans on her old employer.Michael Dunphy, Co WaterfordFlatley a victim of Irish begrudgeryMadam — Michael Flatley is right to defend his good name (‘Do you know any poor people who moved to Monaco?’, February 1).Here is a man who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He physically worked very hard, and it is one of the admirable things about his character that he doesn’t forget where he came from.What is it about the people of this land that they are so into bringing down anyone, but particularly artists and writers?This man has done so much not just for Irish culture, but also for the world of dance. Beyond these shores, his shows are always sold out. People come away from the performances with renewed confidence in themselves and in the endless possibilities of art.Richard McSweeney, Tallow, Co WaterfordMisguided NGOs in dire need of reformMadam — In her excellent letter (February 1), Sandra Adams points out how many of our NGOs have moved far from their original purpose to the point of parody.Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the involvement of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in the production of a booklet on trans rights that seems to deliberately mislead schools and others on the law of the land.That many of these NGOs, such as the National Women’s Council, do not represent the views of those they supposedly represent was shown in recent referendums when they and other NGOs campaigned for a Yes vote before being soundly defeated.If our politicians had any real interest in how our country is run and taxpayers’ money is spent, they might call for a root-and-branch examination of our NGOs. Is there any politician with the courage to bell the cat?Julia Anderson, Kilpedder, Co WicklowMeat in school meals must be cruelty-freeMadam — Parents expect the meals children receive to be nutritious, but they also expect them to meet ethical animal welfare standards (‘Jamie Oliver-style revamp on menu for hot school meals as parents complain about “ultra-processed” food’, February 1).For that reason, it is important that meat from animals slaughtered by ritual means — that is, without prior stunning for religious reasons — does not find its way into the mainstream school meals system.While EU law permits non-stun slaughter under a religious derogation, both Veterinary Ireland and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe have stated that “the slaughter of animals without prior stunning is unacceptable under any circumstances”. Many parents share this view.It is not beyond our wit to make it a condition of procurement that meat from animals slaughtered without prior stunning is excluded from mainstream school menus and provided only as a specifically requested exception.Sandra Adams, Baldoyle, Dublin 13Social housing now part of the problemMadam — Paul Kearns correctly identified the anomaly of Dublin’s population trends over 20 years (‘Route to M50 gridlock begins on Dublin’s under-populated streets’, February 1), but fails to face the elephant standing between the Liffey and Royal Canal — an over-concentration of social housing with no attempt to socially engineer a sustainable residential population mix.If it is deemed appropriate to socially engineer new developments to have 20pc social housing under Part V provisions, then it should also be appropriate to determine an area to have an over-provision of social housing.The north inner city needs a plantation of high earners (such as senior Dublin City Council staffers) possibly accommodated in state-developed accommodation paying prime market rents, the profits from which could be used to fund social housing in outer locations.Alex Wilsdon, Dublin Road, Co KilkennyRailway line doesn’t go nearly far enoughMadam — No doubt there are many and varied challenges coming down the tracks for the new chief executive of Iarnród Éireann, Mary Considine (‘Investing in Rail is money well spent’, Business, February 1).As she acknowledges, rail connections and housing are interlinked, so it was encouraging that the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry to Claremorris got the go-ahead recently.However, it would make social and economic sense to progress this much-needed service to include Ireland West Airport and on to Charlestown, Tubbercurry, Coolaney, Coollooney and into Sligo.This would have the added advantage of attracting investment to many unemployment blackspots, rebalancing the country for future generations.Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co SligoProvide the shingles jab free of chargeMadam — Thank you to Luke O’Neill for his article last week (‘Could HRT and the shingles vaccine protect us from Alzheimer’s disease?’, February 1).Following recent newspaper coverage, members of our Tuesday Active Retired Club sent 30 letters last week to each of our four local TDs and our senator in south Kildare, regarding the rollout of the shingles vaccine. In total, 150 letters were sent.We will continue to pursue this request until the vaccine is rolled out nationwide and provided free of charge.Mary Malcolm and Margaret Salmon, Co KildareWhy weren’t women quoted in ICE piece?Madam — As a resident of the US state of Virginia, I read Colin Murphy’s column with interest (‘Don’t mention the F-word: what MAGA voters think of ICE killings’, February 1).The article set out to test claims of authoritarianism by seeking voices beyond liberal, cosmopolitan and media-centred perspectives, and it succeeds in presenting a range of often under-represented viewpoints.However, one absence was rather striking: not one woman’s perspective appeared.At a time when questions of state power, immigration enforcement, political violence, democratic norms and women’s rights are being debated, this omission matters.Women experience and interpret political instability in distinct ways, particularly given their disproportionate exposure to care-giving responsibilities, healthcare and reproductive policy shifts and community-level impacts of fear and enforcement.If the purpose of the article was to examine how claims of authoritarianism resonate outside elite bubbles, then women are not some sort of peripheral constituency, but at the core of many of the issues.I hope future reporting on this question reflects a fuller range of experience.Fionnuala Quinn, Reston, VirginiaTrumpism a threat by any definitionMadam — Fascism is a right-wing political ideology, the definition of which varies within certain dominant parameters, including glorification of a charismatic leader, authoritarianism, militarism, extreme nationalism often allied with a myth of palingenesis (the rebirth of, or return to, a largely or entirely mythical golden age), racism and the suppression of opposition.Whereas these preconditions for fascism fit Donald Trump’s MAGA regime like a glove, Tim O’Halloran’s four preconditions (Letters, February 1) seem to have been drawn up precisely because they don’t.Either way, Trumpism represents a lethal threat to democracy and the future of our planet.Raymond Deane, Broadstone, Dublin 7Context of the Gaza conflict is key factorMadam — Jim Reynolds (Letters, February 1) suggested that in Gaza there is “less of a war and more of a genocide”.Hundreds of thousands of civilians died in the Allied bombing campaigns in World War II, including the atomic bombings of Japan, but the UK and the US were not accused of genocide.The Israeli military campaign in Gaza is a response to the invasion of Israel by Hamas, which orchestrated the highest number of murders of Jews in one day since the Holocaust.Further, the Israel Defence Forces stated that they have carried out recent attacks in retaliation for breaches by Hamas of the ceasefire. That is the context of the reported killing of 470 Palestinians since the ceasefire began.Ciarán Masterson, Cavan, Co CavanChristian heritage cannot be silencedMadam — Having read David Quinn’s very informative and well-crafted article (‘Saint Brigid would be horrified by her festival’, February 1), I have to agree that any attempt to write Saint Brigid out of our history is disheartening, and unfair to our younger generation.We should be proud of Saint Brigid and nuns such as Sr Catherine McAuley, Sr Stan and Sr Consilio. Irish nuns here and abroad dedicated themselves to healthcare, education and social justice when the State was more than willing to let them take on this responsibility.Call the Midwife is a long-running TV series in which nuns are depicted as charitable, caring and dedicated women. It seems to me that no programme like it would be acceptable in modern Ireland.We cannot silence 1,600 years of Christian heritage. Let us be proud of this great saint and her inspiration, which has reverberated down the centuries.Pat Flahive, Athy, Co KildareFeminists like Brigid still sparking fearMadam — David Quinn tells us that not much is known about Saint Brigid, but that “she almost certainly existed”.He castigates the image of Brigid as a feminist icon and goes on to lambast modern feminists, telling us exactly what Brigid would have thought of us.I suspect that, if Brigid existed, as goddess or saint or both, she was well able to speak for herself, without interpretation by religiously conservative men.That’s why we modern feminists find her inspirational and empowering and some men find her, and us, so frightening.Bernie Linnane, Dromahair, Co LeitrimBuckley acting at the highest levelMadam — Unlike Brid Ewing (Letters, February 1), I enjoyed Hamnet immensely, to the point where I went to see it a second time. It is staggering to call it mediocre and to accuse Jessie Buckley of “hamming it up”. To me, this was acting of the highest level.Roll on the Oscars and good luck to Jessie — it will take some very good acting to beat her.Donough O’Reilly, Kilmacud, Co Dublin
