Rural post offices should be
protected and enhanced – Matt Carthy MEP
Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said
that rural post offices must be protected and their services enhanced. Mr
Carthy also indicated that he would be contacting the government and other
members of the European Parliament to secure support to minimise the impact of
the Postal Services Directive.
The Midlands Northwest representative
was speaking after he attended a packed public meeting in Cappataggle, County
Galway last night (Monday) where the community is campaigning for the retention
of their local postal services. He was joined by local Councillor Dermot
Connelly.
He said:
“As with local Garda stations and
small rural schools, rural post offices are another service that has come under
sustained attack from this government. Hundreds of local post offices across
rural Ireland are threatened with closure.
“What is going in places like
Cappataggle provides a snapshot of what hundreds of communities the length and
breadth of this state are also going through. Residents are listening to
political representatives claiming that they support local postal services. But
the fact is that Irish government representatives and MEPs, including those
based in the Midlands Northwest constituency, failed to stand up for the
interests of Irish people in the face of liberalisation directives from the EU
which are now posing the threat to the post office network.
“The EU Postal Services Directive
which Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Marian Harkin supported, forces the state to
open up postal services to competition. This is the central issue that is
likely to have serious long term detrimental consequences, particularly for the
postal network in areas with a low population density. I intend to seek support
from across the political spectrum to attempt to revoke, or at lease minimise,
this directive.
“The post office is central to local
communities and it is necessary to ensure that the service is protected. In
many rural communities the post office is a focal point for social interaction
and closures are regarded as increasing the level of isolation and loneliness.
“Sinn Féin supports the campaign to
retain local postal services in Cappataggle and across the state. We also
support the retention of social welfare payments in post offices, as part of a
wide suite of financial services, to help ensure their viability.
“Rural communities have taken about
as much as they can manage. Vital services are being stripped day and daily
from rural Ireland. We cannot allow the vital services provided by rural post
offices to fall foul of this government’s austerity agenda.”
A petition in support of Montmellicks Post Office is Available to
sign on the counter of the Post Office.
Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The
Community
No comments:
Post a Comment