Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be afforded the opportunity to speak today. I thank my colleagues on the Independent benches for bringing forward this Private Members' motion.

I have no wish to repeat what has already been said. I support the retention of post offices, but, moreover, I call for reinstatement of the post offices that have been closed in rural communities throughout the country. Post offices are an integral part of our society. Many post offices supplement the income of small shopkeepers in our villages and they keep the businesses going.

We come in here day in, day out and talk about the death of rural Ireland and tax incentives to get villages thriving again. If we do not maintain the martyr in the village, that is, the post office, we are in very big trouble.

Last week I was at home, in my parish, and the big issue that came up was insurance for taxis and the fact that it has gone through the roof for local rural taxi drivers. They cannot afford to stay in business. In other words, people are left stranded in their various communities and villages with no transport or access to the bigger towns. We have seen the decimation of many other facilities in our villages and very small towns and the closure of community welfare offices and dispensaries, all of which has an impact on the operation of our rural communities and society. I therefore support the motion wholeheartedly. As I said to the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, last week there was a wake-up call in middle America. I do not mean middle-class America, but middle America, which is the rural part of America. "Think of us as well," was the wake-up call.

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