Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Minister of State has said. The supports to which he has referred will help a little, but rural isolation has been a major problem for many years. There are so many problems in rural Ireland but I do not have time to list them all today. Poverty and lack of transport in rural areas and the reluctance of some people to cry out for help are serious issues, as is the closure of rural post offices. On the latter, plenty of excuses have been given but we all know that when people go missing this is noticed at the local post office and alarm bells ring straight away. In larger urban areas, Martin Browne could be missing for six months and nobody would even care. These are the types of issues that are worrying people in rural areas. They are being cut off from their own communities because of the post office closures. Mental health is going to be a massive issue after this crisis has passed. Money must be pumped in quickly for the measures to which the Minister of State has referred to address the issues we are raising here today.

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