Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome tonight's motion and support amendment No. 1, wherein we call on the Government to honour immediately its commitment in the programme for Government to support the establishment of a five-year post office network renewal process and to honour the Dáil motion on this very issue that was passed two years ago, yet here we are again.

Much debate on this topic over the past two years and many innovative solutions that could have been implemented by many stakeholders who put them forward were ignored. Post offices were denied opportunities to help them. The closure of 159 post offices in rural areas is nothing short of an abject failure of Government. I call on the Minister to acknowledge his failure and that of his Department and to respond effectively to and address the continued decimation of the rural post office network, which is a testament to his Government's inability to lead change or develop innovative delivery models for the post office and community banking services. If the Minister implemented the community banking services, it would reap benefits for our rural communities. Farming families are unable to access low-credit loans, which is a huge issue that is being widely discussed as we speak at the National Ploughing Championships in Offaly.

There are other issues, including small businesses, which are struggling. The Minister and other Government members have got up several times and spoken about the small businesses in our villages. A community banking system would benefit those businesses and our farming families, who are struggling. We need to look at these solutions. The solutions are there. It is now up to the Minister to take action.

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