Those moving to the country to escape the pressures of life should spare a thought for the damage they are doing to local councillors.
Something akin to road rage broke out recently at a meeting of Offaly County Council, when councillors did the unthinkable and forgot party loyalties to attack the planning department.
The root of their rage was that simple planning matters cannot be dealt with because of the huge increase in the workload there, and lack of staff.
Mr Connie Hanniffy, a councillor for 25 years, complained that planners were not returning telephone calls or answering letters. Mr Tom Feighrey led the attack for Fianna Fail, saying it was virtually impossible to get information.
Mr Tommy McKeigue said it was easier to get an audience with the Pope than to get to meet some of the council planners.
The county manager, Mr Niall Sweeney, defended his staff against the attacks. He said there were incompetent people in the private sector who were submitting incorrect applications, creating problems for the section. His staff was under extreme pressure because of the growing workload, he said, proposing that a special meeting be held between the planners and the councillors.
At that meeting, held last Thursday, there was a standoff between the councillors and the planners. The planners refused to meet the councillors for over 1 1/2 hours, demanding that the council clarify its remarks about the section the previous week.
The press was excluded until both sides came to an agreement that things would improve in the future.
The meeting was told that the huge increase in planning applications had placed additional pressure on staff.
There was an acceptance by the councillors that staffing levels were not as high as they should be, and that the workload had increased threefold in the last three years.
There were similar problems last year in Laois County Council, which is also experiencing a building boom caused by people moving from Dublin and its environs to live in and commute from Laois.
Portlaoise is expected to double in size over the next five years.