Sir, - The Department of the Environment's paper on housing (The Irish Times, August 6th) merely confirms what Frank McDonald and others have been saying for years.
Sadly, the evidence is there throughout the country. Sometimes, you simply cannot see the countryside for the houses, which are often perched in the most eye-catching spots.
There are alternatives, as Seamus Boland (July 31st) surely knows.
Forward-looking councillors in Germany, for example, acquire land within or close to village/town boundaries (often years in advance), which is then gradually released for building. This enables people to build their own homes while keeping villages and towns compact.
Building houses in the countryside is simply not an option.
A further economical use of land is the construction of high-quality apartments in small groups, often with a green and/or children's play area. Compare the space required for six blocks of eight apartments with that needed for 48 houses.
It is clear from the Department's paper that most councillors in Ireland have not even thought about what they want their areas to look like in 20 to 30 years, let alone actually made plans for the future.
Can somebody please ensure that every councillor reads the Department's paper now so that this trend can be stopped immediately? Otherwise our children will find themselves inheriting 40 shades of concrete and nothing else besides. - Yours, etc.,
Carolyn Kenny, Aachen, Germany.