Blog

Mar 13, 2023

Letters: Citizens are fooled by electric pump claims as bills heat up

Promotion of the heat pump is ‘very unfair and misleading’. Photo: Getty Sir —

Promotion of the heat pump is ‘very unfair and misleading’. Photo: Getty

Sir — The Government, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and installers of heat pumps are convincing when they tell us to upgrade home heating systems from fossil fuels to an electric pump.

I live in a house that has a BER rating of A3. Last December, I had a heat pump installed by a reputable installer. My oil boiler was 23 years old and needed to be upgraded.

I decided to go for an air-to-water heat pump, which involved replacing the old boiler and most of my radiators and putting in a new hot water tank. However, the efficiency results are absolutely brutal.

In the first three months (December 16, 2022 to March 16, 2023) after installation, the heat pump used €755 worth of electricity (1,715kwh x 44 cent). That amount of money would buy 839 litres of home heating oil (at 90 cent a litre), which would heat my home for a full year.

The SEAI states: "A heat pump system will reduce your heating bills by improving your energy efficiency."

In my opinion, this pushing of the heat pump is very unfair and misleading to ordinary people like me who are already struggling to pay their bills.

My hope is that an independent energy expert could do some honest analysis of this subject to ensure no more citizens are fooled into making the same mistake as me.

David Riedy, Co Limerick

CSO unravels mystery behind mass appeal

Sir — Dublin's former Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, respected for his candour, expressed puzzlement at how Sunday mass attendance in churches was as low as 10pc of the population while the census at the time claimed over 80pc ticked the "Catholic" box.

More recently, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) told us that 69pc of the national population declared themselves Catholics, or ticked the "Catholic" box. And only 12pc of Dublin city's 2022 census Catholics were marrying in a Catholic church.

Print and electronic media wrongly took comparisons between censure figures at face value. The CSO's forms direct that one person in a household is to fill in the census form for all. This is still Daddy or Mammy. An element of wishful thinking comes into play, in addition to the absurdity of assigning a religion to youngsters.

To prove this, the CSO 2016 census forms included 20-year-olds in two batches; those who lived at home and those who had fled the nest. Those living independently were twice as likely to tick the "No Religion" box than those where a parent did it for them.

As every politician knows, those at the top of the check list get bonus votes (as much as 30pc above the average), so Census 2022 put the "No Religion" box on top, which must have given them a bonus. Previously, the CSO always put "Catholic" up in first place, boosting the results. Unlike other census questions, the CSO offers no advice on the family form, but the website made it clear — I will paraphrase — that if you never darkened the door of a church, still put a religion down.

In 2006, my census enumerator told me she was to tell enquirers: "Put down the religion you were given at birth." Doubtless, the CSO must be anticipating the panic that would strike the Government if it had to find a paid-for secular system of managing the country's many national schools. It's time they looked at how Canada, another relic of British colonial rule, coped 25 years ago.

John F Colgan, Leixlip, Co Kildare

​YMCA service to help anxious school kids

It has been widely reported there is a mounting level of anxiety among students, with more than half said to be experiencing anxiety and other mental health difficulties, and almost all teachers and principals noticing an increase in these issues in classrooms.

Although many reports directly reference primary students, this is an issue in post-primary education that can heavily affect a students’ behaviour and, in some cases, result in suspension. In Ireland, over 11,000 students are suspended each year. That is almost 4pc of the school population at post-primary level.

It is clear there is a high level of support needed for pupils and schools. At YMCA Dublin, we run an Alternative Suspension (AS) service that supports students who are at risk of disengagement from education or have been suspended. This service aims to offer students the opportunity to transform their time away from school into a positive experience that fosters their personal development and autonomy.

We believe it should be a service that is rolled out to each school nationwide. To make this happen, we immediately need funding and government support.

By rolling out the AS service in schools across the country, collectively we can change these issues for our students and their futures.

Kathryn O’Mahony, YMCA Dublin, Dublin 8

What we need now is old-fashioned gardaí

Sir — What had grown, over 100 years, to be a wonderful, caring and much-admired police force has become an invisible, care-lacking group that no longer represents the meaning of the term "guardians of the peace".

Why has this happened? Very simply put, it has all come from "the top" and the multitude of changes initiated from there.

It is now a job where one has to mind one's back, fill in forms endlessly, where trust of your fellow members is in short supply and making contact with the public is non-existent — this is through fear of "crossing the line" and causing trouble and possible suspension, and through lack of time due to ridiculous and unnecessary paperwork.

The public has been promised, by those in charge, 1,000 new recruits in 2023. Looking at what has happened in the past year, the chances of this happening are minimal. We will be lucky if 150 or 200 young people can be persuaded to join the force.

Having served for 40 years, of course I came across corrupt members of all ranks, and bullies in officer ranks too. These were dealt with discreetly and fairly without reverting to front-page news.

Where will it all end? It will end only when the force is once again run by members who have risen through the ranks of An Garda Síochána, who know what the job requires and who will bring back the original ethos of "guardians of the peace".

Sean Corcoran, retired superintendent, Ennis, Co Clare

​AI can be harnessed to benefit mankind

Sir — Your editorial (May 28) warns us of the dangers of AI and suggests we should "harness the good and regulate the risks". I am not sure regulation is a good safeguard in any event, but then I don't subscribe to AI being the existential threat to mankind that many believe.

Technology has brought huge advances going back to even the simple calculator. Mankind has pushed the boundaries to ultimately survive or survive better. We thrive best when challenged.

Part of the richness of mankind is to continue to develop, and in doing so thinking literally outside the box and using all the resources available to change how we learn, live and work. We should embrace AI as I am sure it will help us in many fields, not least the very real threat to mankind — our man-made climate change.

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18

​Time to weed out a major eco invasion

Sir — It is an offence to not prevent the growth and spread of noxious weeds.

Environmentalists who rightly promote the practice of "wilding" (and it is lovely to see our native grasses and wild flowers blooming) should also be campaigning for the control and removal of plants on the noxious weeds and invasive species list.

Brian Lube, Co Meath

​Left high and dry by flow of technology

Sir — Uisce Éireann's radio advert states: "Call us 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Calling is rarely an issue for the beleaguered customer. Getting an answer from an actual human being is where the problem lies these days.

Brendan Corrigan, Bogota, Colombia

​Cattle cull no fix for major climate issues

Sir — As we in Ireland face the daunting prospect of culling 150,000 dairy cattle over three years, surely we have to look at the real problem behind climate change — over-population.

There doesn't seem to be a country in the world that isn't struggling to house its own citizens, never mind the vast numbers seeking refuge.

Now they are telling us that methane gas from cattle is the main problem, and it looks like millions of farm animals all over the world will be paying the price with a trip to the slaughterhouse.

I wonder, in 30 years’ time when they come out and say "Well, it looks like we were wrong about the cattle", what will be next on the hit list.

And why do we always blame animals for our ability to send this planet to the edge of the abyss?

Mike Burke, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare

Blood bank system in need of an overhaul

Sir — Our blood bank highlights annually the shortage of blood at this time of year.

The problem could be done away with if people who have been given blood previously are not discriminated against from ever giving blood again in this jurisdiction.

The NHS system in the UK does not bar or preclude people who have been given blood previously from giving blood. In fact, they warmly welcome donations.

We certainly cannot claim our system is better than theirs. There is no reason why the Irish Blood Transfusion Service should have the monopoly over blood supplies in this country.

It's high time the criteria for blood donations was reviewed by the Government.

Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co Cork

​Our pets always give unconditional love

Sir — Roslyn Dee's heartwarming article (Life, May 28) about her dog, Dudley, brings the title of a Glen Campbell song to mind — Unconditional Love. Quite.

Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9

​Cocaine use in pubs is shocking to see

Sir — A group of friends and I visited a well-known pub in a middle-class area on Dublin's northside recently.

Despite the many families in attendance, I was amazed to see so many people taking cocaine.

The abrupt head barman was informed by our group, but simply stated "It's a curse" before shrugging and walking off.

This carefree attitude appalled my friends and I. We will not be visiting this venue again.

Name and address with editor

Elephant in the room, and it's throwing balls

Sir — There has been an elephant in the room of hurling in recent years, and it made its presence felt last Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick and at Wexford Park in Wexford.

One could say that both matches (Limerick v Cork and Wexford v Kilkenny) were decided, or at least greatly influenced, by inconsistent application of the same rule on ball throwing by two different referees.

For Limerick's second goal, the ball was clearly thrown to Cathal O’Neill, who went on to score a goal that was let stand.

In the last minute at Wexford, TJ Reid was deemed to have thrown the ball across the square for a Kilkenny forward to score a goal — but the result was a free out.

In the former match, Cork are now completely out of the championship for 2023 while Wexford retain their status for the Leinster Championship in 2024.

In the recent inter-county games, the match analysis seems to contain a lot of debate on "throwing" the ball. Some say the referees should give players the benefit of the doubt; in other words, allow throwing. Other pundits suggest something needs to be done about handpassing, that a lot of the passes are, in actual fact, throws.

A dilemma that a lot of people now have, including myself, is that at both club and county level, throwing of the ball is being highlighted every couple of minutes — either correctly or wrongly — and it is completely taking from the game itself, which actually is called hurling.

This issue cannot be resolved with the rule(s) that exist. The GAA needs to act very soon to implement some new rules to deal with the problem.

Denis Donohoe, Kildorrery, Mallow, Co Cork

​More wristy work is what we want to see

Sir — I commend Joseph Mackey on his letter (May 28) on ball-throwing in hurling. Last Sunday, we saw a great Kilkenny forward, TJ Reid, attempt to score a game-winning goal by throwing the ball into the net. The previous weekend, we witnessed the superb Cork hurler Patrick Horgan attempt to poach a goal by throwing the sliotar over the line in Ennis.

Fortunately, for the sake of their opponents and the integrity of the sport, the officials disallowed their attempts.

To be fair to him, last Sunday we saw Patrick Horgan score a brilliant goal against Limerick with a ground stroke. It was the fruit of wonderful wrist work. The key to the art of hurling is in the wrist, not in the throw of the ball.

Bernie Moloney, Emly, Co Tipperary

​Hurlers are giving us thrills every week

Sir — I agree fully with some of the sentiments in the letter from Joseph Mackey about hurlers throwing the ball. However, I disagree strongly with his attempt to blame Limerick hurlers for this practice.

Last Sunday produced another thrilling match between Cork and Limerick, and neither side was penalised for throwing.

Limerick have given this country fantastic entertainment these past five years, and are to be thanked for showing such skill and hard work to master this great game.

James J Ryan, Lisnagry, Co Limerick

​It's more basketball than Gaelic football

Sir — Having attended the double-header in Croke Park on Sunday — with Dublin v Galway in the hurling and Dublin v Roscommon in football — I have to say there's no comparison.

The hurling was exciting to watch, but the football was slow and ponderous with way too much hand-passing from both sides.

I think they should change the name to Gaelic basketball, because Gaelic football it is not.

Liam Fennell, Artane, Dublin 5

​Fixing the boundary of a county is tough

Sir — In his article last week, Eoin O’Malley asked if it was time to "redraw county borders" and mentions the GAA. He uses a number of examples, but misses the biggest issue.

Dublin has a population of nearly 1.5 million, while Leitrim has 35,000. If Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire were four separate counties competing in GAA competitions, the first two would still be in the top five in terms of population while the other two would be in the top 10.

It is also of interest to see that five of the six Northern Ireland counties are in the top 11 counties overall in population.

Anthony Leavy, Sutton, Dublin 13

​Words are wasted on Rolf Harris obituary

Sir — Why, oh why did you have to waste words on Rolf Harris in your obituary page (May 28), especially alongside the great Tina Turner?

I am sure there were more deserving good people you could have acknowledged.

Liz Hanway, Castleknock, Dublin 15

​Religious Ireland is dead and gone

Sir — Terry Healy (Letters, May 28) is quite exercised by the dearth of priests in Ireland and says "we are no longer the island of saints and scholars".

Oh dear. Has Terry not realised that a more accurate moniker for us would be the island of rogues and robbers?

Aileen Hooper, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7