Irish Times 23 March 2021
Sir,
Keep Ireland Open are extremely concerned that the signaled relaxation of the 5km travel limit on Apr 5 may not now take place and the effect that such a failure to increase the limit would have on people wishing to exercise in city and suburban parks and forest parks. Certainly in many areas , particularly in South Dublin and DunLaoghaire, this limit is counter-productive, in that it compresses people into overcrowded parks with congested paths or onto local pavements which makes it almost impossible for them to comply with the 2m social distancing requirement. This matter must also be seen in the broader context of people’s physical and health. There is evidence that many elderly and vulnerable people are now afraid to leave their homes due to this overcrowding. We wonder who dreamed up this draconian concept in the first place and is there a precedent for this in other countries?
Roger Garland,
(Chairman. Keep Ireland Open)
43 Butterfield Drive,
Dublin 14.