Sir, - Regarding recent correspondence on this subject, the problem is not the re-population of the countryside. (Given urban sprawl and its associated problems, such re-population is surely to be welcomed.)
No: the problem is the suburbanisation of the countryside. Examples include suburban mini-estates plonked in the middle of nowhere with no facilities; miles of ribbon development which immobilise anyone too young to drive; totally inappropriate Anglo-American architecture replacing traditional local styles; the impoverishment of village life since noone actually lives in the village; and the colonisation of priceless mountain and seaside scenery by the local nouveau riche.
Such developments are much worse than issues like pollution and deforestation, since short of totalitarianism they can never be undone. The causes include cheap fuel, the dominance of the car industry, lax planning laws and application, post-colonial self-enigration, and an insular lack of appreciation of what one already has. ("You don't know what you've got till it's gone . . .")
As for the solution . . . Stop doing it! - Yours, etc,,
Paul O'Brien, Bertram Court, Christchurch, Dublin 8.