Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter, which revolves around social isolation and the impact a lack of social infrastructure can have on communities. I wish to refer to the community that will be affected by An Post's decision to close the post office in Ringsend. The closure of the post office will have a detrimental effect on the old people who live in this community and who use the services provided at the post office, which is situated right in the heart of Ringsend. The communities in the Ringsend-Irishtown area are long established and many elderly people live there. Everyone who lives in the area - the old and young families and couples - frequent the local barber shop, the butcher's shop and the newsagent. All of these individuals will be affected by the decision to close the post office.

The decision was taken to close the post office because the business was no longer viable. However, instead of identifying another shop in the area that might host the post office, An Post decided to move it out of Ringsend village altogether. In my opinion, not enough research was carried out in respect of transferring the business to another shop in the area. I understand An Post is currently carrying out such research but it is far from certain whether the post office will remain in the Ringsend-Irishtown area. An Post wants to move the post office a significant distance from Ringsend to Barrow Street. As a result, the elderly will not be able to access it.

Most older people go out each Friday to meet their friends, chat and collect their pension payments from their local post office. Post offices are part of the social infrastructure not just in Ringsend, but in towns and villages throughout the country. They ameliorate the effects of social isolation and allow people, particularly the elderly, to be independent and to meet their friends. The community in the Ringsend-Irishtown area is great. Removing the post office from the village would represent a real blow to the older people who live there. In many ways, its removal amounts to ripping the heart out of the community in the Ringsend-Irishtown area.

It is astounding that the Minister with responsibility for An Post is unwilling to meet the residents or the public representatives who have expressed concern about this matter. This issue is too important to be managed by a Minister at arm's length. The Minister must intervene and take charge of matters.

If we are going to protect our urban villages, we must also protect our post offices. In recent days I met a woman who was on her way to the post office in Ringsend and who was devastated when I informed her that it was intended to close it. Her main concern was that she would no longer be able to travel to the post office on her own and would in future be dependent on a neighbour to get her there. This woman is going to lose her independence as a result of what is happening.

Saving the post office in question is vital to the survival of the villages of Ringsend and Irishtown. If the post office closes down, the butcher, the newsagent, the other shops and the public houses in the area will all lose out financially. The effect of the closure will be extremely detrimental. I ask that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, intervene and take some responsibility for this matter. He should not allow the mandarins in An Post to determine whether our urban villages survive.

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise to Deputy Chris Andrews that the Minister was unavailable to take this matter. As he will be aware, the issue of social isolation is not a new phenomenon, nor, in light of its broad-ranging impact, is it one in respect of which the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has sole responsibility. I am sure the Deputy will accept that the causes of social isolation can be varied and include poverty, unemployment, disability, illness, educational difficulties and substance abuse, to mention but a few. Accordingly, many Departments and agencies, including the HSE, the Garda, the Department of Education and Science and local authorities have responsibilities that touch directly or indirectly on this matter. In addition, there are numerous voluntary and community agencies with specific or broader remits that are available to those who experience social isolation for one reason or another.

The remit of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources includes support for communities, irrespective of location or socio-economic development. However, its programmes, individually and collectively, focus on communities, particularly those that are vulnerable, disadvantaged or under threat. The key principle underlying these activities is the provision of support that enables communities to identify and address problems in their areas. In order to be effective in this work, the Department seeks to provide a co-ordinated approach not only across the range of measures for which it has direct responsibility, but also with other Departments and State agencies.

The Department operates a wide range of measures, programmes and schemes which support disadvantaged communities. These include the local development social inclusion programme, LDSIP, the community development programme, CDP and the RAPID programme. Some of the programmes operated by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs may also indirectly impact on issues relating to social isolation. I refer, for example, to the community services programme and the programme of grants for locally-based community and voluntary organisations.

The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources also provides general support to the voluntary sector and supports volunteering. In the time available, it is not possible to give a comprehensive description of all these programmes. However, I will provide a brief outline of the LDSIP and the CDP.

The LDSIP aims to counter disadvantage and promote equality and social and economic inclusion through the provision of funding and support to urban partnerships and integrated companies. The LDSIP comprises measures that are designed to counter disadvantage and it specifically promotes equality and social and economic inclusion. The programme is implemented by 37 integrated local development companies and 16 urban partnerships. These are not-for-profit organisations which target the areas of greatest need throughout the country in order to provide an area-based response to long-term unemployment and promote social inclusion across three sub-measures, namely, services for the unemployed, community development and community-based youth initiatives.

Under the LDSIP, the companies work with specific groups in Irish society including people with disabilities, migrant workers and their families, lone parents, farming smallholders, members of the Traveller community, the elderly and youths at risk, all of whom experience specific forms of marginalisation and, in some cases, social isolation. The companies tackle issues of social exclusion and work with a cross-section of State agencies and local bodies in their respective areas.

The CDP provides financial assistance to some 180 community development projects in recognised disadvantaged areas nationwide, in both urban and rural settings. It also provides support for self-help work to specific target groups that experience disadvantage, for example, lone parents, members of the Traveller community, people with disabilities and elderly individuals living in isolation. The programme is designed to reduce social exclusion by targeting support at disadvantaged and socially excluded communities in order to improve their capacity to benefit from social and economic development.

These programmes and those operated by the Department Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs provide real remedies for those experiencing social isolation. However, this is not to say that we are complacent, particularly in the context of the challenges we face with regard to the public finances. The LDSIP and the CDP are being redesigned in order that we can be sure they provide real value for money and actually provide measurable improvements in the lives of the communities they are designed to serve.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Chris Andrews will be obliged to send a postcard to the LDSIP from the post office to which he refers.