Sir, - If Ireland was a dictatorship, and I the dictator, Cllr Deirdre de Burca's letter of September 5th would be compulsory reading for everyone. Similar issues are arising in Kildare, Meath and no doubt elsewhere.
I believe it is of the highest importance that central government's strategic planning guidelines are followed, leading, we hope, to logical sustainable development, and that local government is not permitted to go ahead with piecemeal developments without an overall vision for the next generation.
Such developments tend to be motivated by developers and those hoping to sell land at fancy prices, and the public good is frequently well down the list of priorities. Go to it, Mr Dempsey! If central government can't control the county councils, what is it there for? We have an example here in Laragh at the moment, where Coillte is hoping to sell forestry land near the village for serviced house sites. Laragh is an area in which, according to the strategic guidelines, development should take place only to meet local demand. There is not sufficient local demand for the sites, which will be expensive, and the infrastructure does not now have the required capacity.
Coillte bought the land years ago with State funds for commercial forestry, with the aim of providing employment. Many local residents feel it was not bought and financed for property speculation, and should not be so used.
Laragh depends largely on the tourism industry, and so on the natural beauty of the area, and the last thing it needs is a suburban eyesore on the edge of the village. The scheme is in breach of so many strategic planning guidelines that, if the Government enforces its clearly expressed wishes, it cannot go ahead, yet the promoters seem to hope to sneak it through somehow. - Yours, etc.
Hilary O'Kelly, Laragh Castle, Co Wicklow.