To an extent, Constantin does have some valid points to make regarding distribution of planning permissions granted in different areas of the country.

However, in tying his arguments together, he makes use of the often-repeated comparison, beloved of many economists, between the running of the state and the operating of a private business.

Comparing private business and government is as meaningless as saying, "If a family were run like a business, the parents would fire the children" . . . meaningless because, while resources are undoubtedly vital to both, government and family are about far more important things than simply making money as an end in itself. And yet, this fundamentally flawed underlying premise of freemarket theory habitually goes unchecked.

It is a shame that so much authority is afforded in modern Ireland to such shallow rhetoric.

As a final aside, I humbly suggest that Dr Gurdgiev refrain from using the term 'QED' when concluding an article . . . the term is better employed in areas of more genuine scientific study, as opposed to the pseudoscience of economics.

Tulay Byzire, Borris Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois.