Whereas there is a pragmatic acceptance of such a cosmopolitan mix of humanity living in urban areas, albeit with the usual ingredients of wealth, poverty, class distinction, social stigma and very often a dollop of racism thrown in as well – there is no similar acceptance amongst the movers and shakers in Ireland of such a broad conglomerate of people living in rural areas. Indeed the hugely influential and generally affluent urban coterie who run the media, civil service, environmental groups and bureaucracy in general are imbued with the self righteous conviction that the types and numbers of people who live in the countryside must be strictly controlled by Government regulation.

The fact that this type of social engineering transgresses a whole range of rights enshrined in the constitution, common law, EU law, Human Rights Conventions, national justice and democratic principles, carries little weight with this holier than thou anti-rural brigade, who reverently quote their own interpretation of the common good and the protection of the environment as justification.

Their overwhelming influence buoyed by a planning ideology of urbanisation and villigisation imported from our neighbours in the UK (one of the most densely populated regions in the world compared to Ireland with one of the lowest in Europe) has resulted in the creation of a perception of anyone wishing to build in the countryside as being anti-environment, anti-social and generally representing such a threat to the sustainability of the human race that the first reaction is to refuse planning.

These opening paragraphs are intended to outline the planning context in Ireland for rural houses. The remainder of this article will offer some personal observations on rural life compared to urban living in the general context of declining finite energy resources.

As we are discussing the issue in a global context, it is essential to reflect briefly on how humanity – or rather the developed part of it – has arrived at the point where we are now at.

At one time, we were all rural – hunters, farmers, fishermen etc. With development over millennia came urbanisation, business, travel, wars, slavery and, of course, inventions. Development, though uneven in the world, always results in populations leaving rural areas. Development understandably also results in raising expectations amongst people in under-developed areas for parity of goods and services.

Mans' ingenuity, creativeness, energy, etc resulting in countless inventions of an extraordinary nature relate directly to the ‘good life’. But there are also downsides to virtually all inventions and developments.

One of these is the consummation of so much of the worlds’ non-renewable resources.

The global dilemma –for which we can only hazard guesses at solutions – is as follows. The worlds’ population is growing rapidly. Because of advances in medicine, killer diseases will be controlled or beaten. People will live longer. Goods and services – which consume vast amounts of finite resources – but which are still only available in the developed world, will be demanded by all people. As things stand, the latter is an impossible aspiration. Added to the above, the present consummation of finite resources is damaging the ozone layer as well as creating massive pollution.

As my poor fondly remembered mother used to say “it’s being so cheerful that keeps us going”. Perhaps her touch of light-heartedness is an essential part of survival, for if we were to add mans’ inhumanity to man in all its terrible manifestations, to the above analysis of the global dilemma, we would simply die of despair.

To cut to the chase, we are all born into specific situations somewhere in the world not of our choosing. Without moralising or lecturing of any kind, our main instruction from mother nature is to get on with the task of survival. I argue quite simply that I and millions more like me, have not alone a better quality of life, but a far greater chance of survival in the face of the approaching global dilemma outlined, by living in a rural area rather than being forced by planners and the Frank McDonalds of this world to live in high density urban situations. A few basic examples must suffice in this short article.

When as is predicted, electricity outages – explained or otherwise – become more frequent on a national and global scale, compare two scenarios – high rise apartment living with rural living. High rise apartments, because that is the big growth industry in Ireland (as we blow up Ballymun because it disastrously didn’t work, our fat cat developers are hell bent on repeating the same mistakes a hundred times over with the blessing of Government and urban planners).

Apartments: No electricity means no lights or heating (mostly storage heating); no lifts – elderly, infirm, mothers with young families etc, all will be helpless in apartments higher than two or three stories; cooking – ok if the gas still works (many gas cookers have electric controls) otherwise disaster as apartments have no chimneys or fireplaces to light a fire.

Public transport runs on oil or electricity. When these get scarce or run out, public transport will grind to a halt – no Luas, no buses, no Dart. Basically transport in urban areas will be for the able bodied who can walk or cycle. Apart from public transport, the complex integrated infrastructure required to sustain human life and social activity in densely populated urban areas such as schools, hospitals, work places, police forces, armies, fire brigades, food sources, leisure activities, sewage treatment plants, water pumps, heavy industry, waste disposal - all these and many more depend on oil and electricity and without either or both, they will cease to function.

Sustainability: Bottom line is that the much promoted sustainability theory of a large urban critical mass of people will collapse if massive sources of alternative energy are not developed in time to replace rapidly disappearing oil reserves. And all of this without even considering air travel, one of the heaviest oil guzzlers of all. Within the critical mass theory only a tiny percentage of people will be strong and resourceful enough to survive without massive alternative energy sources.

Not so in rural areas. In Ireland the one and a half million people living in the traditional dispersed village pattern of single houses (no lifts) on minimum half acre sites have a far more sustainable lifestyle and can easily adapt to a survival mode if need be, in virtually all circumstances. Individual households will adapt in ways that suit them best. Examples: All houses have fireplaces for cooking and heating. Wood for burning is a renewable resource. Electricity: small wind turbines will give some 220 volt supply or larger supplies of small voltage power.

Transport: Electric cars – batteries can be charged by own wind turbines. Farmers can revert to breeding horses and hire them out for transport. Food: lawns can be turned into vegetable gardens, chicken runs and rabbit pens. Fish, wild fowl, fruits, nuts, etc may be available in many situations. Water: wells can be opened if required and pumped by hand. Farming: Diesel will be ‘home grown’ and other forms of ‘energy’ farming will become hugely important from renewable sources.

Sewage: Standard septic tanks require no energy source. High tech septic tanks will be adapted to hand pumps if necessary. Bottom line is that the vast majority of individual rural families will survive in extreme circumstances where the individual who is just a tiny cog in the mythical critical mass of urban people has almost no hope whatsoever.

I am an optimist and an activist by nature, but not one who is blind to reality. I said earlier that we can only hazard guesses at what solutions mankind will come up with in order to develop replacements for finite energy resources, and as an optimist, I believe that mankind will do so, if for no other reason than there is no other option. Like Churchill said to the British people during the blackest days of the Second World War – “We will win because we have to win”.

Finally, I am stating my convictions in this article because of the bureaucratic and undemocratic pressures of all kinds being put on rural dwellers to urbanise. In a democracy people should have freedom of choice; not so for rural dwellers in this country.