Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

Senator Coghlan raised an exceptionally important issue, supported by Senator Daly, in regard to the challenges now facing rural Ireland. Most of the debates we had here over the years focused on one-off housing. If people are not facilitated to return to live in rural areas and become part of the community, we will face many difficulties in future. We all bemoaned the mass exodus, leaving empty homesteads, from rural Ireland in the past, but we got a new wave of confidence when people wanted to return to rural areas. These people can continue to live there only if the infrastructure and services are in place.

In the past week I was asked to do a television interview on the closure of post offices and I had to be up-front and say I was not happy with the development, as I do not believe it will help rural Ireland. There is the serious matter of the decline of many rural pubs which, in many ways, were the assembly point for people living in rural Ireland. I am not arguing we should in any way dilute the rules on drink-driving, but this is happening by stealth and a debate here on the general context of rural Ireland would be worthwhile.

In County Clare a new community began to emerge, with a hairdresser, a mechanic and so on moving into an area but these services will not continue if the proper infrastructures are not put in place. I am a cofounder of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association and since becoming involved with that body I have seen other instances of development, with little or no publicity.

At this stage the Seanad could play a useful role in discussing, in a focused and itemised way, the new challenges that face rural Ireland.