I raise the issue my colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney, and others have raised on a number of occasions, including last week, namely, the appalling downgrading of, and lack of concern for, rural Ireland and rural post offices, which was very obvious last night with the very large and peaceful demonstration outside the House. For some time, this side of the House has called for a Minister for rural affairs and that legislation should be rural-proofed.
I tabled a matter on the Adjournment about the closure of a number of banks in west Cork, in particular in Schull and Ballydehob, and the Minister of State the Department of Finance, Deputy Brian Hayes, felt that, in some instances, the banks were using economic restructuring as a scapegoat and that was not justified. As the banks in Schull and Ballydehob were closed, he indicated that the three post offices on that peninsula would be supported by extra financial business which the banks had failed to provide to the local community. As has happened all over the country, another bank was closed in Dromcollogher. One arm of government is saying social welfare must be paid through the banks rather than the post offices, but Government policy should be tweaked in such a way that rural post offices are supported.
Last night I met a postmistress from Ardgroom village, which is 110 miles from Cork city. She said farmers who were in receipt of farm assist payments had to travel 50 miles to the bank in Bantry to draw the money as it must be lodged in a bank, rather than a post office. This is a serious kick in the teeth for rural Ireland. As it is such a serious issue and as this is the first time I have spoken on it for some weeks, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, or whoever is the appropriate Minister comes to the House today, even for one hour, to explain the direction in which we are going in regard to rural Ireland.
The banks have closed and the Garda stations are closing. If the rural post offices go, it will be an awful kick in the teeth. The policies of the Government are dictating that they will be closed. The banks bullied us and let us down with a bang and now the post offices, which are the only back-up people in rural Ireland have, are being ground to a halt because the policy of certain Ministers is that people should forget about rural post offices and use the banks. As we should forget the banks and support post offices, I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business.
