Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I echo the comments that have been made by my friend and colleague, Senator Daly, about the Government's neglect of rural Ireland. The people who live in rural Ireland - I happen to live in County Leitrim but this is mirrored throughout the country - can see at first hand the impact Government policies have had, including the closure of Garda stations and the threat to post offices. I hope the Bobby Kerr report will awaken someone in government to take positive initiatives to ensure the rural post office network is maintained.

Another aspect of my contribution in respect of the neglect of rural Ireland comes with the damning report from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on the lack of funding for the maintenance of our road network. On many occasions in this House in recent years I have railed against what I saw as underinvestment. It has been brought home to me repeatedly as a member of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Committee members have heard first-hand from the various stakeholders involved in maintaining our road network that there has been underfunding for years. Let us put that against the Government spin to the effect that the economy is rapidly recovering and there is now money available. We need only look at the auction politics being engaged in by the Labour Party and Fine Gael. The latest from those in the Labour Party is that they are going to reduce college fees by €500. Who is going to believe them?