Green Party policies well worth reading
Dear Editor,
I would appreciate the opportunity to respond to a letter by Anthony O'Halloran, published in The Nationalist last week. I am actually very pleased that Mr. O'Halloran referred people to the Green Party website, to look at the policies, and hope everyone will look at each party's policies on all the issues before placing their vote in future. They should consider which policies would have made most sense over the last decade, and which policies would have avoided the present situation, and consider that party as their first preference in future.
On animal welfare, despite what he said, the Green Party policies are well thought-out, and not at all "comical". I would concede that the implementation of all of these policies may be impractical in the present economic climate, given the lack of money in government and the country, but when the policy document was published in 2005, that was perhaps not in the writer's minds.
What is wrong with seeking to end the practice of showing wild animals (as opposed to domesticated ones) in circuses? The best circuses in the World today have already done this, and many only feature feats performed by humans.
To my thinking greyhound coursing, now that the dogs are muzzled, cannot be classified as a deliberate blood sport, and if hares are being injured on occasion, as maintained by the Irish Council Against Bloodsports, it would be a case for better regulation or operating systems rather than banning. And as I previously pointed out, shooting, fishing etc. are not even mentioned in the policy document, and certainly are not considered "blood sports" by the Greens.
Finally, I would remind Mr. O'Halloran that many of the policies on the Green Party website are long-term aims, and if he is looking for something comical, perhaps he should try the central policy aim of all the main political parties (FF, FG and Lab) in Ireland, that being unending growth, which is not realisable in a world of finite resources.
When are the main parties going to realise that economic policy based on unending growth is unsustainable, with results exactly like we are now experiencing.
Perhaps it is time to think about long-term economic stability and sustainability instead?
Yours,
Con Traas
Chairman,
South Tipperary Green Party
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Monday 21 May 2012
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