Sir, –Stephen Collins misses the point (“Death of rural Ireland is a myth”, Opinion & Analysis, September 13th). We know that people are more affluent and don’t choose to use the post offices and don’t choose to buy much in the nearest village either. Yet the residents of dispersed rural housing take their nearest villages for granted and want them there. Post offices could easily be the effective counter for many more essential government services and citizen interactions. Rural Ireland may not be dying, but it’s morphing into something very unpleasant, a big commuter belt with hollowed-out towns and villages and once-attractive roads that are dangerously over-burdened by SUVs and hurrying commuters.

Source: The Irish Times September 13, 2018 23:03 UTC