Sir, - In order to protect the future of rural Ireland, I believe the Government must strenuously oppose any (EU) decision which would place a question mark over the majority of subpost offices operating in rural communities.
It would be totally contradictory for the EU to promote regional development with certain policies, only to totally undermine it by forcing the Irish Government to remove key social welfare contracts from an Post and put them out to out to tender.
At present, local post offices act as a social hub for so many communities and removing this vital service would polarise so many of the vulnerable people in rural Ireland.
The closure of rural post offices would accelerate the already unsatisfactory imbalance that exists between urban and rural areas and would threaten the future viability of many small communities, whose future depends on the availability of a range of basic services.
I will be calling on my party colleagues in Government, to challenge any EU decision which does not take account of the economic and social importance of existing services in small communities throughout Ireland, including sub-post offices. - Yours, etc.,
Cllr Hugh Lynn, Progressive Democrats, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon.