Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)

In the space of three years, therefore, the Cloghane-Brandon area has seen its postal service reduced from two full post offices to just one office with only agency status. With more than 700 residents in this area of the Kerry Gaeltacht, which encompasses a large physical area, this reduction in services is completely unacceptable. This, in conjunction with the curtailment of the public bus service, makes life extremely difficult for people in rural areas. Many pensioners in rural Kerry, because of the closure of the local post office and the limited public bus service, are unable to collect their pensions on a Friday. Social welfare recipients or those requiring some specific postal services must travel a minimum of ten miles to nearby Castlegregory to obtain a social welfare payment or post a parcel.

If elderly people living in Dublin city were obliged to travel ten miles without access to public transport, the radio shows hosted by Joe Duffy and Pat Kenny would be bombarded with complaints on a daily basis. This is a problem that applies in rural areas, however, and it seems people who live in such areas do not matter. There is little interest in such issues if they do not affect Dublin. I assure the Government, however, that the people of Kerry will revolt at the next general election. They are unwilling to endure any more discrimination in the provision of public services. The BreastCheck service was not extended to the area, we have the longest waiting lists for mental health assessments and we have neither post offices nor public transport. Perhaps Joe Duffy will be more interested in the concerns of the people of rural Kerry after this debate. We can be certain, however, that the Government is not interested.

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