A chara, - While Martin Cullen's new guidelines for rural housing are a clear reversal of previous Government policy, they come as no real surprise. This Government has had ample time to implement a sound policy to arrest rural decline but has failed utterly to do so. Charlie McCreevy admitted as much with the announcement of his plan for public service decentralisation.
Neither of these moves will do anything positive for balanced, sustainable rural development. They will, as Frank McDonald has rightly pointed out, encourage further suburbanisation of the rural environment and prevent the generation of critical mass in any city other than Dublin. It is all the more infuriating because our current Ministers appear to be aware of the logic behind the sustainable development ethic.
Rural communities do face tough economic times. But to bin the hard-earned wisdom that underpins the idea of sustainable development is a decision that will be sorely regretted in years to come - particularly as it appears to be designed to please a frustrated rural electorate.
Mr Cullen's facile posturing suggests he wants the Government to be seen as some sort of liberating rebel army, storming the bastions of Dublin privilege to prise rural landowners rights from the "foreign" embrace of An Taisce. This kind of post-colonial hogwash should have no place in a self-governing sovereign State.
That Fianna Fáil wishes to perpetuate it says everything about its navel-gazing vision of the future. - Is mise,
CONOR MEADE, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.
Madam, - Your Editorial on "bungalow blitz" (March 5th) makes some valid points: urban-generated designs, ground-water protection, holiday homes, etc. However, I would like to emphasise that "bungalow blitz" is not the same as one-off housing. Current planning policy does not clearly define "one-off" (by virtue of location, neighbours, or the fact the applicant is non-local or not ordinarily resident?), nor does it appear to arbitrate clearly in favour of fitting and appropriate planning.
In our own townland, there were once six houses, other than our own relatively new one. Sadly, all but one of these are now unoccupied or derelict. Ireland is littered with empty houses that are simply allowed to fall into ruin. Allowing these to be repaired or replaced with more modern houses should not be construed as "one-off", but it appears to be.
Ireland is, and always will be, predominantly rural, and so it's impractical to assume all new development will be in big towns. The fact that someone works in a town or, as in my case, works from home, does not mean they are not part of the local community, or that they do not contribute to it. People have a right to the lifestyle they wish to adopt.
Surely the issue for planners, apart from health matters such as water and sewerage, should be redressing the demise of the local townland communities and ensuring new houses are in keeping with any rural location.
Interiors can still be modern, and of a present-day size, but the exterior should be more sympathetic than the plethora of neo-Georgian palaces and Spanish haciendas that now punctuate the landscape. - Yours, etc.,
TONY PROCTOR, Ballymacarbry, Co Waterford.
Madam, - The Government's decision to relax restrictions on one-off housing is another triumph of gombeen politics gone mad and - coming up to the local elections - is only to be expected.
However, one aspect of the justification for one-off housing is extremely puzzling. We are told that one-off housing is necessary to combat depopulation in the countryside. But if depopulation is the issue, how will building more houses help? Surely depopulation indicates that there are already too many houses for the population willing to live locally! Something here does not add up.
Rural depopulation is caused by people being drawn toward jobs in urban centres, and as this is a feature of modern life perhaps we should get used to it. The alternative is this King Canute-like reaction of having people build new houses on the old farm to drive 30, 40, 50 or more miles to work every day.
Is this a viable and sustainable solution to anything? - Yours, etc.,
JOHN STAFFORD, Chesterfield Road, Castleknock, Dublin 15.
Madam, - According to the Taoiseach's address to his party conference, people who are born in an area, live in an area and contribute to an area should be entitled to build their homes in that area.
Does his Government intend to implement such a policy in the metropolitan area? Or is he prepared to abandon the electorate in this region in his attempts to woo rural voters?
Perhaps a Department for Dublin will be promised - and quietly forgotten after the forthcoming elections. - Yours, etc.,
J.A. CAMPBELL, Cowper Village, Dublin 6.