Sir, - I share the concerns of Kevin Myers (An Irishman's Diary, February 20th) that rural Ireland should be protected and preserved from uncontrolled development. However, as a member of Mayo County Council, the local authority which he so strongly criticised in his article, I would like to put the record straight.
I am sure I am speaking for my 30 colleagues on the council when I reject suggestions that we are in favour of thousands of houses on one-acre plots, extended suburbia, or visual sleaze, as Mr Myers so colourfully puts it. A case has to be made, though, for the many young people in Mayo who want to build houses and settle down on land which their families have owned for generations. If these dwellings cannot be built, whole townlands, once vibrant with life, will die out. Post offices may close, GAA clubs and other community organisations suffer.
Kevin Myers has defended the role of An Taisce, which my council colleagues voted unanimously to "delist" from the planning process. He is entitled to his opinion, but the reality is that it is clogging up the planning process in Mayo and hastening the decline of villages which are so important to the rural fabric. - Yours, etc.,
Cllr JOHN CARTY,
Knock,
Co Mayo.