Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter, which revolves around social isolation and the impact a lack of social infrastructure can have on communities. I wish to refer to the community that will be affected by An Post's decision to close the post office in Ringsend. The closure of the post office will have a detrimental effect on the old people who live in this community and who use the services provided at the post office, which is situated right in the heart of Ringsend. The communities in the Ringsend-Irishtown area are long established and many elderly people live there. Everyone who lives in the area - the old and young families and couples - frequent the local barber shop, the butcher's shop and the newsagent. All of these individuals will be affected by the decision to close the post office.

The decision was taken to close the post office because the business was no longer viable. However, instead of identifying another shop in the area that might host the post office, An Post decided to move it out of Ringsend village altogether. In my opinion, not enough research was carried out in respect of transferring the business to another shop in the area. I understand An Post is currently carrying out such research but it is far from certain whether the post office will remain in the Ringsend-Irishtown area. An Post wants to move the post office a significant distance from Ringsend to Barrow Street. As a result, the elderly will not be able to access it.

Most older people go out each Friday to meet their friends, chat and collect their pension payments from their local post office. Post offices are part of the social infrastructure not just in Ringsend, but in towns and villages throughout the country. They ameliorate the effects of social isolation and allow people, particularly the elderly, to be independent and to meet their friends. The community in the Ringsend-Irishtown area is great. Removing the post office from the village would represent a real blow to the older people who live there. In many ways, its removal amounts to ripping the heart out of the community in the Ringsend-Irishtown area.

It is astounding that the Minister with responsibility for An Post is unwilling to meet the residents or the public representatives who have expressed concern about this matter. This issue is too important to be managed by a Minister at arm's length. The Minister must intervene and take charge of matters.

If we are going to protect our urban villages, we must also protect our post offices. In recent days I met a woman who was on her way to the post office in Ringsend and who was devastated when I informed her that it was intended to close it. Her main concern was that she would no longer be able to travel to the post office on her own and would in future be dependent on a neighbour to get her there. This woman is going to lose her independence as a result of what is happening.

Saving the post office in question is vital to the survival of the villages of Ringsend and Irishtown. If the post office closes down, the butcher, the newsagent, the other shops and the public houses in the area will all lose out financially. The effect of the closure will be extremely detrimental. I ask that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, intervene and take some responsibility for this matter. He should not allow the mandarins in An Post to determine whether our urban villages survive.

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