I sort of figured that Keith hadn’t read the last Dispatch. Normally, if I say something he doesn’t like, I get a barbed comment by return email, but this time nothing.

The kindest thing the newspapers ever have to say about Tom Gilmartin is that he's a whistleblower. You can tell they think he's a ninny. RTE newsreaders have a special face for him, the same one they use for Jackie Healy Rae and Willie O'Dea.

I Wrote this for the Sunday Tribune the week before last. I was hoping to generate debate about it amongst Dispatch readers, so if you missed it the first time, you'll find it after the jump.

Minister Gormley at a recent Shannon rally telling people who rely on the Heathrow connection that he was planning a special high speed cycling lane to London which would work even better if everyone would only give it a chance. I’ve taken my argument with the DoE about their appeal to An Bord Planala on a project I was working on as far as it will go. Just a quick recap: you might remember from Dispatch 10 I told you about a very good proposal by a decent bunch of architects to renovate/restore a Protected Structure in one of our larger cities. The City Council approved it and none of the usual objectors objected. But we were shocked when the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government decided to appeal the decision. Once that happened, An Bord Rubberstampala had no option but to do the Minister’s bidding.

I’m told that County Clare is now looking for ten copies of all planning applications.

… but no, no, no, no, no, you got me wrong. I’m not for one minute suggesting that An Taisce members jauntily propel themselves through D2 Georgian conservation areas as if controlled by an invisible puppeteer, passionlessly declaring an unpersuasive interest in brass door knockers, vocal utterances vaguely coinciding with the unconvincing movement of their lips. Nor am I suggesting that An Taisce members cycle around the countryside, snooping into other people’s affairs looking for ways to report their neighbours to the County Council. That’s totally not what I’m trying to say – I’ve never seen a Thunderbird puppet on a bicycle. Bear with me, it’s more complicated than that.