Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

It is time to stop ignoring the perils which communities, especially those in rural Ireland, face. The Government is punch drunk on the amount of money coming to the Exchequer, but it must focus on the future and ask what will be its legacy to rural Ireland. It seems the legacy of the Government will be the closure of Garda stations, overcrowded schools, the closure of local shops, thanks in no small part to stealth taxes, and, above all, the closure of our post offices. This must not be allowed to happen.

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