We continue to see small primary schools under threat and the new Minister for Education continues to allow primary schools to close and be amalgamated. The village post office has also been sought out as a possible victim of rationalisation. Some congregations have even experienced threat of closure of the local church, if they are unable to sustain the building and its environs. Many small communities have buckled under these closures and have allowed their communities to die. However many more vibrant communities have fought back and are continuing to fight against central bureaucracy, where their worth is not understood and where values of life in rural communities are not appreciated.
The latest threat to sustaining economic activity in small villages has come from major oil companies. In the last couple of weeks, a major Irish oil company has written to all its customers indicating that from 1 January 1994, a surcharge will be imposed on retailers purchasing quantities of less than 9,000 litres of product per delivery. This will have a devastating effect on petrol stations located in rural areas and will lead to higher prices. Hence, many of them will be neglected by their customers and subsequently will have to close.
It is important to note that many of these small stations do not have the capacity to store quantities of 9,000 litres and, even if they wished to co-operate with the oil company, they would not be in a position to do so. It is also important to note that demand for different types of fuel, for example, lead free, super, diesel, etc., has led to problems in regard to tank storage.
In a typical village in Ireland the petrol station is part of a small complex which usually includes a grocery shop and a public house. The closing of a petrol station in a small village means that people in that locality have to travel to the nearest town for fuel. Having made that trip they will no doubt complete the remainder of their shopping in that town. This will have the long-term effect of forcing local retail outlets to close, thereby further downgrading life in rural villages.
The Government is committed to stemming the decline of rural communities. It appointed a Minister of State with responsibility for this area and I am glad he is present tonight. The Minister should consider this serious issue and ensure that people who own petrol stations in rural areas are treated fairly. Having regard to the fact that oil companies operate under a motor fuel category licence, it should be possible to bring some pressure to bear on them, either through the Director of Consumer Affairs or the competition authority, to ensure that they do not close another service in rural Ireland. This oil company, in its pursuit of profits at the expense of rural communities, should remember the following words of Oliver Goldsmith, who lived in the locality where this policy will have most effect, in The Deserted Village:
Ill fares the land, to hast'ning ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay:
Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade;
A breath can make them, as a breath has made;
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,
When once destroy'd, can never be supplied.
