Everyone should have right to express opinions freely

Dear sir - As a citizen of Trim, I would like the opportunity to reply to the comments made by Pauline Baker in a recent Chronicle. I"m sure Pauline, like me, wants the best future for all the people who live in Trim and its environs. It is important that planning matters do not become too lopsided, ie, either too pro-development or too anti-development. In Trim Town Council over the past years, there has been a bias in favour of development. From being a medieval town that grew very slowly over the centuries, Trim has doubled its population in 10 years. Major events have taken place in the town in that time, such as the restoration work on Trim Castle and the courthouse paid for by Irish and EU taxpayers" money. The OPW, having spent millions restoring the castle and the courthouse, realised that there was a pending parking problem looming for the court and visitors to the castle. There was no convenient and available location to park buses and cars. The Sisters of Mercy in the town had 1.3 acres of land in a very convenient location which would be ideal for setting up a car park. They agreed, as a gesture of goodwill to the town, to sell this plot to the town council for IR£42,500 (an insignificant sum of money considering its town centre location). The council then informed the OPW that they now had a suitable site for a car park, and Trim Town Council asked the OPW to contribute to the cost of converting the site into a functioning car and bus parking space. The OPW agreed to contibute one-third of the set-up cost, up to a maximum contribution of IR£50,000. So if the council spent IR£100,000, then the OPW would contribute IR£50,000. The Chamber of Commerce in the town was also in favour of the car park, as was the Catholic Church on Patrick Street which requested its congregation to use the car park when it was finished. The council applied for the OPW funds, not having contributed anything themselves, and it was this taxpayers" money that was spent to make the car park usable. For whatever reason, six months after setting up the car park, the town council changed its mind as to the future usage of the site and rezoned the site commercial. A tender process was initiated and the site was then purchased by a developer and thereafter the controversial hotel was built. Phil Cantwell, in his election literature, was trying, and entitled, to explain to the people what had occurred and it was incorrect for Pauline to shoot the messenger as all he was doing was informing the people as to what went on behind the scenes with actual documents acquired by him after much investigative work on his part. The said documents clearly showed the course of events. Likewise, she thought the report by the Centre for Public Inquiry was incorrect, but she failed to produce one shred of evidence to counteract what was in the report. I have never been involved in any form of politics until this issue was exposed by Phil Cantwell, and since then, I have become very wary about how deals are struck by councillors, and council staff behind the scenes, and all this supposedly in the interests of the people. In a democratic society we should all be able to express our honest opinion in a free and fearless way, and not feel intimidated by oligarchs only interested in making themselves richer. The country has been economically seriously damaged by the vast amounts of speculative money put into property development by our so-called entrepreneurs. Instead of developing a sustainable industrial future, they went for the easy option and have left the country nearly bankrupt. At the end of the day, it will not be the speculators who will carry the load for the failed banks and property developments, but the taxpayers of this country. Yours, Sean Foley, 13 Cluain Ri, Trim.