Sir, – As someone likely to be publicly named in the forthcoming legal proceedings reported in The Irish Times article “Brothers’ legal strategy backfires on religious order” (August 1st), I write with profound disappointment and dismay.I am astonished that those charged with embodying Christian brotherhood have so clearly failed the most basic test of the Christian faith: to show humility, accept responsibility and stand unequivocally with victims. By abrogating responsibility to those harmed and adopting legal tactics that shield assets rather than confront wrongdoing, the leadership has allowed a reprehensible minority of Christian Brothers to tarnish the good name and lifetime service of many faithful brothers.True Christian leadership demands repentance, accountability and pastoral care for victims – not obstruction. Where God calls for compassion, the pursuit of mammon cannot be an excuse. Choosing to protect property over people is morally wrong and irreparably damages the congregation’s legacy and current mission. – Yours, etc,SEÁN Ó DÍOMASAIGH,Dunsany,Co Meath.Sir, – The behaviour of the so-called Christian Brothers as described in Saturday’s edition “Brothers’ legal strategy backfires on religious order” prompts me to query by what right they continue to use the word Christian in their title. Do none of the current leadership see the supreme irony in using it? – Yours, etc,GERARD CLARKE,Dundrum,Dublin 16.Sign of a good summerSir, – This morning my early rising six-year-old declared to his older siblings: “It’s raining, I’m not even joking,” as they appeared for breakfast.Is the need to provide assurance that it’s actually raining the sign of a good summer? – Yours, etc,NEIL LONG,Dún Laoghaire.Co Dublin.Maintaining the countrySir, – As an expat living in Scandinavia for almost three decades, spending holidays at home is a rewarding experience. However, one word that comes to mind when in Ireland is maintenance. We have built motorways that connect the four corners of the country yet trees and bushes obscure road signs, dustbins in public places need to be cleaned as well as park benches covered in bird excrement. Public parks and play areas could do with a refresh and lick of paint. Our trains needs to be electrified, modernised and offer greater availability. The people of Ireland should demand more from our local authorities and politicians In terms of maintaining and enhancing our infrastructure making it pleasurable for all to enjoy in the fine weather. – Yours, etc,SEAN O’DONOGHUE,Sundsvall, Sweden. A striking contrastSir, – Travelling between Belfast and Dublin recently, the contrast between Dublin Connolly and Belfast Grand Central is quite striking. The former feels congested and unfit for purpose, while the latter is spacious and inviting. With the many plans to expand and enhance our rail network, surely an update to one of the main train stations to serve our network deserves to be included in those plans? – Yours, etc,NIALL FITZGERALD,Charlotte Quay, Dublin 4.Hospitals and cleanlinessSir, – My wife and I recently had to visit the paediatric ED at Sligo University Hospital with our toddler and, a few months earlier, the ED at Temple Street in Dublin. While I am glad to say that on both occasions our child received fantastic care from nurses and doctors on duty, I feel the need to voice my strong concern about the standard of cleanliness in these facilities. During both visits, lasting a total of three and four hours, respectively, we did not see a single member of cleaning staff attend to the waiting areas (including the restrooms). As you can imagine, children aren’t too concerned with keeping shared spaces tidy, and so the floors and seating were littered with food scraps and various wrappers. While parents naturally bear some responsibility for keeping the space clean, I believe it is reasonable to expect for the hospital itself to maintain an adequate level of hygiene.We are about to open a brand new children’s hospital that has been touted as a world-class facility. Can we expect it to be maintained to a degree worthy of the children? If yes, why can’t we do the same for existing hospitals? If not, why bother spending this amount of money and time on building something so elaborate if we then don’t take care of it? – Yours, etc,DAVID RIEGER,Balgriffin,Dublin 13.Bank profits and customersSir, – Joe Brennan’s excellent report on Bank of Ireland’s outstanding half-year results raises an important question (“Bank of Ireland upgrades forecasts following ‘excellent’ first half”, August 1st). With profits soaring, dividends increasing and customer deposits continuing to grow, isn’t it time the bank rewarded its loyal savers with interest rates worthy of the name?Without the confidence and loyalty of its savers, Bank of Ireland would not have amassed ¤108.5 billion in customer deposits on which to build its lending business. At a time when shareholders are enjoying the fruits of the bank’s success, it is only fair that savers should receive a better return on the funds that have helped make that success possible. – Yours, etc,PATRICK O’DONOGHUE,Maynooth, Co Kildare.Housing solutionsSir, – I don’t think we need AI to develop a coherent housing strategy, as Geoff Scargill suggests in his letter (July 31st).The solution is simple – increased State-owned and/or subsidised social housing. Vienna, often regarded as the gold standard for long-term rentals, has state involvement in more than 40 per cent of the city’s rented residences, either through municipal or subsidised housing. What’s lacking in Ireland is the political will to reinvest in social housing to an effective degree, rather than prioritising short-term profit for private landlords – often the very people shaping the policies. – Yours, etc,FINN CARROLL,Dublin 6.Working from homeSir, – Reading your correspondence regarding the working from home question, (“Working from home has many benefits including greater focus”, Letters, July 22nd), I am prompted to write regarding my experiences of an unforeseen consequence of the working from home practice.As someone who for years successfully hosted people under the rent a room scheme I have decided to discontinue due to prospective guests working from home, for me this can mean the person renting being at home all day, most days (under my feet). An unfortunate consequence in our current housing dilemma. – Yours, etc,MARY DALY,Rathfarnham,Dublin 14.Short-changedSir, – I enjoyed the “Beyond The Crowds” article in Saturday’s Weekend section of the newspaper, particularly the piece on Arranmore. Having recently holidayed on the island, it is everything the article said, and more. I was disappointed to read though that the island has six pubs, because I only managed to find four during my stay. – Yours, etc,CAROL-ANN BROGAN,Drumcondra,Dublin 9.The Minister and the conferenceSir, – I refer to the article by Jack Horgan-Jones regarding the attendance of Minister of State for Agriculture Noel Grealish at the recent Conference on Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in London. I doubt that the Minister’s attendance at, for example, an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) conference would attract any public comment. The media seems to be distinctly biased in favour of one side of the normal spectrum of political preferences – the left/ liberal side as opposed to the right/ conservative side. The meeting attended by Noel Grealish was convened to promote conservative principles/viewpoints and was attended by a number of ex-prime ministers, for example, Boris Johnson of the UK and by two ex-prime ministers of Australia. These conferences were partly founded by the well-known Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.Horgan-Jones also interviewed some prominent Irish attendees at these conferences, including Patricia Casey, professor of psychiatry and newspaper columnist, and David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute. Both Casey and Quinn freely acknowledged that these conferences openly promote moderate conservative policies.Both liberal and conservative bodies periodically hold conferences to advocate and promote their own policies. This is just normal political activity. I believe that the conventional spectrum of politics in a democracy from moderately left to moderately right is both healthy and indeed essential to maintaining good order and selecting the best policies. This is just normal business and selectively casting critical glances at mild to moderate conservative canvassing is unhelpful. – Yours, etc,WILLIAM REVILLE,Emeritus Professor, University College Cork.Scooters and carsSir, – The Government has done well to finally ban scooters capable of driving faster than the 20kph speed limit. Perhaps it could now turn its attention to cars and implement the same rules using the same logic? Why are car makers allowed to sell cars that can drive more than twice the national speed limit and boast about this fact? Scooters regularly hurt people but the pages of your newspaper show almost daily that cars regularly kill people. – Yours, etc,TOM MOLLOY,Rathgar,Dublin 6.Transition Year and disabilitySir, – Caroline Farrell’s letter on the exclusion of students with an intellectual disability from transition year asks readers to “think about that for a minute” (“transition year and special needs”, Letters, July 31st).We should sit with what such exclusion communicates to young people about the value of their ambitions and the possibilities imagined for their lives.Recently, I had the honour of participating in a panel alongside three people with intellectual disabilities. One young woman spoke about finishing school and wanting to continue to college.Then she stopped. She tried to describe the reaction of those around her and the barriers that prevented her from pursuing that ambition, but the words would not come. The experience had happened several years earlier, yet the hurt remained lodged in her throat.Her lack of words spoke so loudly. She had not simply been denied an educational opportunity. She had been made to feel alone in wanting it. She had been forced to absorb the message that further education was an unusual or unrealistic ambition.Think about that for a minute.Think about a young person watching her peers enter transition year, explore new interests, gain work experience and imagine their futures, while she is offered no equivalent opportunity.No young person should have to persuade others that she deserves the freedom to pursue an ambition. Nor should people with an intellectual disability require extraordinary resilience simply to access the ordinary architecture of education and adulthood.Caroline Farrell is right. Think about that for a minute.Then let us act as though we have truly understood it. – Yours, etc,LUCINDA MURRIHY,Dundrum, Dublin 16.Father TedSir, – Data centres, big pharma, a gigantic national herd and the Government response to water shortage is a hosepipe ban and to drain the Shannon. Am I living in an episode of Father Ted? – Yours, etc, JOAN BURGESS,Cork.