Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will do my best with two minutes.

It is the job of a Government and a State which claims to be a republic, to treat all its people equally, with an equal right to housing, health care, education and other essential services which we depend on to live and prosper. The running down of Bus Éireann is salient in this regard. Bus Éireann is in the Government's cross hairs because its entire purpose is to serve as many people across the island as possible. Bus Éireann is vital to the continuation of rural communities but is in direct opposition to the Government's desire not to invest in anything that will not make a quick buck.

Courtmacsharry, which is not in my constituency but in my county, once had a railway station, a dance hall, cinema, petrol station and 17 shops. The last shop closed last year but local residents formed a small co-op. This is what is happening in rural Ireland. In my own constituency of Cork East, I recently met members of a rural community group. They explained that while we now have the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East to promote rural and coastal areas, tourists cannot get down the roads in their area. There are lights at the start of the village, nothing in the middle and lights at the end. Once one gets past that, the beaches are closed. There has been much talk about investing in rural Ireland, particularly in tourism. We must invest in our rural areas, treat them properly and engage with the people who live there. We need to improve our roads, footpaths, lights and broadband but above all, we must treat our rural citizens properly. We have a property tax but the people of rural Ireland are getting nothing for it. This is about equality because we all pay tax.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on Deputy Martin Kenny's Bill.

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