Sir, – Anthony O'Leary complains about (September 15th) rural people who left their villages to live in one-off houses in the "middle of nowhere" and are now complaining about lack of services. Maybe he should put his nose outside Dublin for a minute and see that it is people in the towns and villages that need the services, not those who "abandoned" them to live in the one-off "mini mansions" he refers to.
Was it just Dublin taxpayers that paid for the Luas, dual carriageways, concert arenas and the other services confined only to the capital city? Rural and regional city workers have been subsidising Dublin’s many benefits for years, certainly not the other way around, while services elsewhere are second rate at best. Public transport is practically non-existent in regional cities, leading to traffic chaos.
We all can’t or want to live in cities.
Perhaps you should print letters from people who actually know about rural Ireland. – Yours, etc,
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SINÉAD LYNCH,
Bandon,
Co Cork.
Sir, – I must look harder for signs of rural decay on my next trip beyond the Pale. The decay must be well hidden behind large houses, wrap around gardens, ride-on lawnmowers and multiple cars in driveways. – Yours, etc,
REAMONN O’LUAN,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14 .
Sir, – Last week the Donegal Democrat newspaper carried an advert for construction workers to work in Dublin. These jobs are taken up reluctantly, but out of necessity, by tens of thousands of workers from as far away as 150 miles from Dublin. That's a round trip of 300 miles a day for a man to hold a job that should be available on his door-step.
From places as far west as Swanlinbar in west Cavan, groups of men in lorries and vans leave home every morning at 5am and return again the same day at 8pm.
It’s a job and a living of sorts. But it’s not much of a life, is it? – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN DUNLEAVY,
Killeshandra,
Co Cavan.