I am a member of Limerick County Council. The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, has championed rural development. Sometimes we talk as if one-off houses are not built in rural areas, yet of the 50,000 houses built in the past two years, 36% were one-off in rural locations. This does not suggest that rural Ireland is in decline. Planners are often criticised about decisions. However, they must be sensitised about planning decisions in rural locations. It would be a contradiction if the water supply was polluted, while a large number of one-off houses were built in the countryside. Planners must be conscious of high water tables and the threat of water pollution. We often get involved in arguments with them, but they are probably criticised unfairly when trying to do what is best for the common good. Rural Ireland is not dying which is evident from the dramatic increase in the number of one-off houses in County Limerick. We welcome such an expansion.