In recent years there has been a rapid decline in many rural areas. While there is a great argument for the building of houses in such areas, they remain in decline. I shall provide an example. During the past five to six years, Mayo County Council received 16,500 planning applications and granted 15,000 planning permissions. That does not take into account those planning applications that have been withdrawn for one reason or another and those from people who received word in advance that they would be refused and withdrew their applications. Of the 15,000 successful applications, 10,000 new houses were built in rural areas of County Mayo. From the 1996 census of population to the 2001 census of population, the population declined by 2,500. This is a frightening statistic. The local authority granted 15,000 planning permissions, 10,000 new houses were built and yet the population declined by 2,500 over the five-year period.