Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)

Rathmines post office is being sold off. It is a beautiful art deco building in the heart of Rathmines. It is shameful to see it go. Post offices are essential services. They are the social infrastructure of the community. The post office in Rathmines is moving to the local Centra shop close by. This is no criticism of the owner of Centra. If it was not for him, there would not be any postal services at all in Rathmines. The problem is he can decide to close it down if it does not suit his business model, and that would then be the end of postal services in Rathmines. That is happening right across the city and the entire length and breadth of the country.

It is shameful that the Government of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has decided to maintain a model where the postal services in communities are dying by a thousand cuts and underfunding. The IPU – the postal union – was in the Oireachtas yesterday and said that 40% of post offices would close if funding was not delivered by the Government. This is bleak. Rathmines post office will now have to pick up the tab for the Government's failure to fund post office services properly. The current building, owned by An Post, in Rathmines will go for millions of euro. It is a large, beautiful building. It would be hugely beneficial to local community activities and as a community hub. It is as if the Government is determined to sell any public property. It is shameful and sad to see a beautiful publicly owned building being sold off in Rathmines. I ask that the Minister come in to explain and justify how he is allowing An Post sell off such a beautiful building.

I agree with Senator Fitzpatrick on Gaza. She, Senator McDowell and I all used the word “settlers”, but I think that is not the right word to use, given what is happening. The settlers should be described as thieves, and often murderers, because that is what they are doing in the West Bank and Gaza. “Settlers” is too nice a word for them and it does not reflect what they actually do.