Sir, – It is likely Seán Byrne’s piece (Opinion, May 28th) was largely tongue in cheek. However, I do not expect such pejorative terms as toilet riders and turf cutters to be laid against rural dwellers in your paper, particularly when we need a sense of national solidarity in the face of major economic pressures.
I am a land owner more than a farmer, keeping only a little stock to maintain the grazing fields. I may drive to an urban centre to work, but my motor taxes are higher due to fuel duty. I have a well for water, as I was quoted €17,000 to bring mains water on to my land, an attempt to get me to provide infrastructure that would subsidise others to receive water in a wide pipe in the future. I paid €4,500 for two electricity poles and a meter to connect power. The sewage from my home leeches through four fields and a sink hole, farm waste is similarly treated under existing legislation.
I have no footpaths along my road, no bin collection service, private or public. The only road surfacing nearby in 10 years has been provided by Sinn Féin activists in an attempt to show solidarity with the rural dweller. My wife carpools as much as possible on the school runs.
Most rural dwellers understand the need for centralisation of services to maintain standards, but why to we have no air support to get the nation’s people to them?
It may also be said suburban houses with a long commute from Killiney or Malahide will produce as much CO2 and should be abandoned in favour of Tokyo- or Seoul-style apartment living. Is there any need to go on? Why not accept each other’s difficulties and help find solutions – never easy for an economist. – Yours, etc,