Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister is well aware that keeping small institutions open in small villages is becoming a challenge. There is an ideology driving much of government thinking in the developed world, and at its core is the idea that small institutions, services and outlets are only sustainable if they are economically sustainable. The notion that a premises might have a social value, which is generally not a quantifiable commodity, is fading off the radar. We do not value something unless it has monetary value, which is leading us to a point at which we know the price of everything and the value of nothing. There must be an active desire on the part of the State to keep our villages alive. Many of these institutions are interconnected, and when one is closed it threatens those that remain. That false economic philosophy, which fails to take on board the social dividend, must be challenged if we are to avoid turning rural Ireland into a wasteland. The cost of such closures to the people is immeasurable, sowing the seeds of economic failure, unemployment, isolation and social problems too numerous to mention.

Duncormick post office in Wexford probably would not even be up for review by An Post but for the fact that it was closed for review, and now An Post is considering not reopening it or allowing a tender process to commence in the village.

There is much anger in the village of Duncormick at the idea that it might not have a post office. The nearest post offices are 6.6 km and 7.2 km away. There are many old people in the area who do not have transport of their own and who are literally begging for lifts to get to the post office to carry out any business they may have. I know the Minister is at pains to stress that An Post is a commercial State body and that it must make ends meet, which is understandable. It has more than 1,000 post offices but I suspect it would like fewer. An Post might argue that it would be more economically sustainable if it had fewer units, but given that it is State-owned and the Minister has influence over it, it is important that we do not lose sight of the social value post offices offer these small communities.

We have seen the closure of post offices, Garda stations, small shops, small pubs and small businesses and there is the threatened closure of small schools because there are not enough pupils. It is a dangerous path to go down. The Government needs a strategy. If institutions do not appear to be sustainable and if the figures do not add up, we must help make them more sustainable. Retaining life in these villages is very important.

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