Rural solutions are needed - Post offices under threat

SPECULATIVE reports that in the region of 80 rural post offices are earmarked for closure have been resoundedly refuted by An Post which says it is conducting a review of the network.

“No decisions have been made while this review is ongoing,” said a spokesperson. That will come as a relief to many rural dwellers. Nevertheless, that relief could be short-lived as the service nationwide is said to be losing €12m a year.

Local post offices, along with local banks and bus services, are the lifeblood of many small towns and villages but their closure is not the only worrying sign. As last year’s census figures showed, rural Ireland is already being denuded of its young population.

While the economy of Ireland is primarily urban, the heart and soul of the country remains rural but drowning in nostalgia will do nothing to help it survive. A more enlightened and dynamic approach is needed.

Politicians and other decision makers could do worse than take advice from GAA legend Pat Spillane who is heading a conference entitled ‘Building Rural Communites – Lessons from Sport’ on March 29 at St Patrick’s College in Thurles.

No other single organisation has done more for rural Ireland than the GAA. No single person within that organisation has done more of late for rural communities than the eight time All-Ireland senior football medal winner.