Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

Regarding transport, I am seeking a debate on rural services. We have heard much about transport in respect of rural pubs, but services such as communication must be included in the debate. For example, An Post is pulling out of Roscrea, a large provincial town in the heart of rural Ireland. It cannot manage its business profitably and it pulls out. The same is happening with broadband, which is not freely available in rural areas. The few remaining people who have businesses in rural Ireland cannot accept payment using a card because of the inadequacy of the telephone lines. This is the situation after ten years of delivery of services by this Government — there are no pubs, shops, Garda stations or communications in many areas.