Is the Minister's speech available for circulation?

Sentiment score: 0.00

While we welcome the Bill, many people in my community and the Minister of State's constituency in Donegal will hear his words and say they ring hollow. He talked about how this investment will sustain the post office network across the State and, in particular, support rural and Gaeltacht post offices. At the same time, however, as he knows, in the community of Anagaire locals have come together to fight to try to save their local post office. As the Minister of State speaks in this House about securing the future, that post office is about to close down within days as the postmistress will retire on 31 July with nobody to take her position. At the core of this, as Deputy Byrne made clear, is that postmasters and postmistresses are being paid per transaction and are not being paid a salary. The challenge is that when somebody looks at the books in a rural, Gaeltacht community to see if it is a viable opportunity, in many cases, unfortunately, the answer they come up with is "No". We have seen this script rolled out time and again. We have seen the post offices in Bun na Leaca, Mín Lárach, Gortahork, Dún Lúiche and An Bun Beg close in recent years. We cannot allow the same thing to happen in Anagaire. Over 200 transactions go through that post office every single day and 60 businesses depend on its services. If the Minister of State is to put substance behind the words he has delivered in the Dáil today, he needs to intervene and make sure there is appropriate support to allow for rural and Gaeltacht post offices to continue and thrive in the future and to adapt to the changes that are happening all around us. As the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, I ask the Minister of State to look beyond the sheets of paper that were written for him and do not allow the post office in Anagaire in his constituency to close down. There is a solution. It means making sure a small proportion of this additional funding can be provided in core support to make sure rural and Gaeltacht post offices are viable into the future.

Sentiment score: 0.24