Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I congratulate him on the excellent work he has carried out since his appointment last year. It must be particularly rewarding for the Minister to see the realisation of many of the projects which he worked on when he was Minister of State.

The Minister recently visited the constituency of Roscommon and was shown the benefits of the CLÁR programme in the case of a small sewerage scheme in Ballinameen. Roscommon County Council, the Department and local developers between them built the integrated sewerage scheme. It has revitalised the village, which is close to Boyle, and new housing has now been built in the area. Combined with the tax concession in the Shannon corridor, it has made Ballinameen a focal point for redevelopment and regeneration. It is the ancestral area of President Mary McAleese. The Minister also visited Deerpark in Boyle where an extension of the sewerage scheme is being developed which will allow for housing in the area.

The extension of the CLÁR area was very welcome. I ask the Minister to reconsider the situation regarding the town of Castlerea which is not included in the CLÁR area. People find it remarkable that towns like Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon are included in the CLÁR area but Castlerea is not. The town has suffered serious job losses but recent announcements of new jobs are very welcome.

The Minister recently extended the CLÁR area to include an area called Four Roads, which is just a few miles from Roscommon town. We are now losing our post office in Four Roads and it will be run on an agency basis. The very week in which the Minister was trying to revitalise that area, An Post decided to allow the owner of the premises, the postmaster, to avail of redundancy. He is entitled to avail of any such offer and it is not fair that he should be put in that position.