Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Like everyone else, I heard the news this morning that 80 post offices are due to close. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, constantly says that the Government is fully committed to a policy that will see An Post remain a strong, viable company in a position to provide a high-quality postal service and maintain a national network of customer-focused post offices in the community. While I welcome that commitment, closing 80 post offices in the immediate future is really tragic for rural Ireland. The Taoiseach is from a beautiful part of rural Ireland in County Mayo. I am from Ballyfermot and one or two post offices in my constituency of Dublin South Central are being closed. However, the impact of the closure of post offices in towns and villages in Mayo, Kerry, Clare, Donegal and other parts of the country will be enormous. As one journalist wrote this morning, "Will the last person out of rural Ireland please turn out the lights?". This Government has disappointed the people in the context of the provision of bus services. It is now closing post offices and this is just not acceptable. The people of rural Ireland need decisions to be made that will support them, not neo-liberal decisions based on where the most profit can be made and determinations that services are not viable if profits cannot be made. We sprang to attention when the banks went down. We sprang to attention overnight and bailed them out with our money. What are we going to do to bail out rural Ireland and to keep those post offices open? Post offices are essential, not just to financial fabric but the social fabric of our towns and villages.

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