Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. In regard to any discussions the Minister of State may have with the local authorities, there are indications to the effect that rural dwellers are being denied planning permission in their own areas. Since this is a very basic requirement, would it be possible to engage with the local authorities on this? If we do not have a rural population, we do not have a need for services and eventually everything will decay. That happened in the mid-west of the United States many years ago and it has happened in many other countries.

Will the Minister of State and the Department commit to an ongoing programme of creating an awareness of the necessity to ensure that all these areas in rural Ireland have the ability to absorb and to grow a population and to make a serious contribution to the community and economic life of the country?

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