Conor D McGuinness
Waterford · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Vincent de Paul, both of whom, to be fair, are stepping up but that is not the way it should be. I have also spoken to principals who are told to stretch their ICT budgets, and, in fact, that is the response I got from the Minister of State’s colleague, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, when I queried this. Those budgets have been cut.”
“Every July and August, families steel themselves for the cost of children going back to school, including uniforms, books, and shoes, and, as the Minister of State well knows, school transport. Now, for thousands of parents, there is another bill waiting on the kitchen table. It is one for hundreds of euro for a digital device.”
“It is simply passing responsibility on to families and calling it policy. A child's education should never depend on his or her parents' ability to buy a digital device, and no student should be disadvantaged because they cannot afford the device his or her school requires.”
“I dtaobh chúrsaí Gaeltachta, ní aontaím leis an Aire in aon chor go bhfuil dearcadh nó aighneachtaí na ndreamanna éagsúla atá ag obair sa spás seo iniata leis an gcáipéis seo. Is léir go ndearna an Roinn agus an bheirt Airí sa Roinn tithíochta neamhaird air sin.”
“Today is a very important day because the State has finally and formally apologised to the survivors of Bill Kenneally's abuse. Those who should have been protected were instead failed in the most profound and devastating way. No apology can undo the harm that was done.”
“It is a recognition of the persistence and bravery of you men who are here in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery and those who are not here today. Those of you who refused to give up in your pursuit of truth and justice, I thank you for what you have done. I thank you for your courage and for your power.”
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Every one of 843 lines we hold for Conor D McGuinness, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 17.
“Youth Work Ireland set this out clearly when I and many other Deputies met it last week. Proper funding, fair pay through a statutory scale and a capital programme for facilities are needed. The Minister will no doubt point to strategy in her response but strategy without delivery or funding does not support a single young person. We need investment, certainty and a recognition that youth work is not optional. In fact, for many of the communities that I and many other Deputies in this House represent, it is utterly essential.”
“Youth work is one of the most effective tools we have to intervene early, build trust and empower and equip young people with the skills and confidence to navigate the world they are growing up in but it is being undermined by Government failure. Recruitment and retention is now a serious problem. Skilled, committed youth workers are leaving because pay and conditions do not reflect the value or demands of the role. That is not sustainable. Services are also struggling under chronic underfunding. Rising costs, increased demand and the uncertainty of funding streams are making long-term planning almost impossible. There is a clear deficit in infrastructure. Too many communities do not have proper youth spaces and that has been allowed to persist for years.”
“Front-line youth workers are being asked to carry more and more of the burden with less and less. They are dealing every day with the real pressures facing young people, such as mental health challenges, online harm and misinformation, social isolation and increasingly visible antisocial behaviour. In Waterford, we are seeing that play out in very real terms with the lighting of fires in parts of Waterford city, and most recently in the Gallowshill area of Dungarvan, along with the growing misuse of nitrous oxide, an issue that is being consistently flagged by my colleague, Councillor Kate O’Mahoney, and Deputy Mark Ward, who has moved legislation in this regard. These are symptoms of a deep failure by a Government that frankly no longer gives a crap.”
“It is a political choice and it has always been a political choice but the Ministers have always made the wrong one. It needs to be reversed now.”
“They even had to take the HSE and the Department to the High Court just to get a school place. Katie, an SNA, said it is heartbreaking to see children still waiting for placements. She said they are severely understaffed and underpaid. The job is physically, emotionally and mentally demanding. There is no risk pay, even when staff are injured. They support safety, learning, communication and care all at once without the support needed to do it properly. We in Sinn Féin and parents and educators across the State have been warning of this for years but the Government has failed to act. Classes are being redesignated without consultation. Supports are being diluted. Children are being denied access based on need. The Government has failed to plan, failed to invest and failed to deliver.”
“The Government is sleepwalking children, families and schools into a crisis in September. It surely can see what is coming, yet for whatever reason it continues to fail children with additional needs. Across the State, children are still waiting for appropriate school places. In Waterford, I am in touch with so many parents crippled with worry, deeply angry that they are being forced to fight to secure a basic right to education. Educators are being forced to fight to protect their roles, out on protest to be allowed to continue supporting children. In their own words, I will tell two stories from constituents in Waterford. Sabrina is a mam. She told me her youngest is seven and non-verbal. They have no speech and language therapy. They cannot get equipment because there is no senior therapist to sign it off.”
“The 10 cent announced yesterday is not anywhere near enough and the fact that home heating oil has been left out of the package in any meaningful way is nowhere near enough. We need action to look after all sections of society who are suffering and hurting because of the fuel cost crisis at the moment.”
“I attended a protest in Dungarvan on Sunday, which was one of many that took place across the State. Hauliers, farmers, fishers and rural contractors, such as agri-contractors, were present, but people from other walks of life were also there protesting against the fuel cost increases and about the need for action. There were older people who were rationing heat; families who were making the invidious choice between putting fuel in the car, paying off some of their electricity bill arrears or feeding the adults in the family; disabled people who were struggling to get to appointments and keep their homes warm; and students and apprentices who told me they were borrowing money to put fuel in their cars to get to their training centres or colleges. What will the Government do for those people?”
“Effectively, the proof that Government requires to show that these farmers are actively farming, on these lands that are in dispute and on all other lands they are farming, is a commonage letter from the landlord with whom they are in dispute, and that is an unfair burden. It is an unfair intervention into this dispute and it is not necessary. There are creative means by which the Department can establish that these farmers are actively farming land and ensure that they have some kind of income rather than holding them over a barrel while this dispute continues.”
“The Minister of State and this Government need to make a clear intervention here. I am more than happy to say that what is happening here is wrong, that the demand of a 900% rent increase by a British absentee aristocratic landlord on Irish farmers is wrong. I would urge the Minister of State to make that statement and for his colleague, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to make a similar statement. That would carry an awful lot of weight. To return to the farm payments issue, it is important to put on the record here again that all farm payments are being withheld from farmers who are unable to produce this commonage letter from the aristocratic absentee landlord.”
“Will he meet the farmers to hear their concerns and stories? Will he clearly support their right to remain farming on the land in question and make a statement in the Dáil in the interests of supporting them and other hill farmers and sheep farmers in maintaining their way of life and agricultural activity?”
“At the very moment that these farmers are under the most pressure in this land dispute, their farm payments are being withheld. The Government is holding them over a barrel and is strengthening the landlord's hand. The Government and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are taking a side in this and are pushing these farmers towards the edge. I raised this issue previously with the Minister of State's colleague the Minister, Deputy Heydon. There have been protests. There has been strong public support. This has been raised by Congressmen and MPs in the United States and Britain, but there has been no action on the part of the Government. That is not acceptable. This cannot continue. These farmers are doing everything they can to remain on the land. Will the Minister of State ensure that these payments are released to them?”
“Sixteen hill farmers on the Knockmealdown Mountains in west Waterford are facing the imposition of rent increases of 900% by a British absentee landlord. This increase will put them off the land. These are generational farmers; families who have farmed the mountains for generations and centuries. I have met them several times. Only last week, Deputy Cullinane and I were up on the mountains with them. What is happening is a stark injustice. It has echoes of darker times when absentee landlords, British aristocrats, pushed Irish farmers off the land. That is a comparison that should concern all of us, and it certainly should concern the Government. It is 2026 not 1846, yet farmers in Waterford are being forced off land that their families have farmed for generations. The Government is making matters worse.”
“That is the lived reality of infrastructure failure in Waterford. For rural communities, the impact is even more acute. When infrastructure is delayed or denied it is rural towns and villages that feel it first and hardest. Without roads, public transport, water and wastewater capacity and healthcare provision, there is no foundation for growth. If this legislation is to have any credibility, it must focus on prioritising the infrastructure that communities actually need, alongside clear accountability for delivery and fair, balanced regional investment. Waterford and the south east and rural communities across the State deserve the same level of ambition, investment and delivery as anywhere else.”
“In education, the South East Technological University continues to receive the lowest level of funding of any technological university. Water and wastewater infrastructure is acting as a direct barrier to housing and development, with urgent upgrades needed in Lismore, Bunmahon, Crook, Passage, Portlaw and beyond, yet these projects are repeatedly deprioritised. In Dunmore East, the fishing harbour requires development to support the local industry. The wider harbour has clear potential for tourism, while cé Helvic i nGaeltacht na nDéise remains effectively unusable due to the lack of dredging there. In housing, targets have been missed to such an extent that people are now struggling to live and remain in their own communities. Entire villages and towns are facing a demographic cliff edge.”
“It now has the lowest level of per capita investment of any region in the State. None of that is an accident. It reflects a clear and sustained pattern of neglect that cannot be ignored. The consequences of that neglect are visible across Waterford. The urgent safety upgrades to the N25 in Waterford are stalled, while the N24 has not progressed. Public transport investment lags far behind demand. The Waterford to Rosslare line has been shelved and there have been cuts to wider rail services, including the Waterford to Dublin route. As the Minister knows, Waterford Airport was left without proper State backing, to the point that a private investor had to step in to fund the runway extension. In healthcare, University Hospital Waterford still does not have full 24-7 cardiac care.”
“Its record is one of inaction, delay and poor value for money time and time again. We now have legislation that does not even clearly define what “critical infrastructure” is in its own title. It does not define the term and that is a serious weakness. It gives the Minister, and whoever is the Minister of the day, wide discretion to designate projects, creating a real risk that developments will be fast-tracked without proper scrutiny, while the infrastructure that people actually rely on continues to fall behind. The Government can designate and announce as much as it likes, but it will all be judged on whether it delivers. Nowhere is the failure to deliver starker than in Waterford and across the south east. The south east has 9% of the State’s population yet receives just 1.8% of major capital spending.”
“Sinn Féin will support measures that genuinely speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure, and there is no question that this State needs urgent investment and delivery at scale. This Government has a clear problem with delivery. Communities are repeatedly told that projects are coming, funding is allocated and plans are in place, but what they experience instead are delays, stalled timelines, missed deadlines and a lack of urgency. The infrastructure deficit we face today has been built up over decades. Communities across the State have been left waiting while projects are delayed, scaled back or abandoned altogether. You cannot build on top of announcements. You cannot drive on announcements. You cannot grow an economy on announcements or on plans and strategies. This Government cannot be trusted on infrastructure delivery.”
“They have said it so often that they probably even believe themselves, but people are not fooled. They see a Government that is arrogant, refuses to listen and is wilfully blind to the real hardship being experienced. The solutions are clear. We set them out for the Government three weeks ago and again today. A minimum 25 cent reduction on petrol and diesel at the pumps, maximum cuts to excise on green diesel, the complete removal of excise, including the carbon tax on home heating oil, and direct support for households in the grip of this crisis.”
“That was the message that I heard clearly this weekend in Dungarvan and across Waterford more widely as my colleague Deputy Cullinane and I spoke with protesters, listened to them and heard their concerns, something that the Minister of State and his colleagues in government have failed and refused to do. Much better to denigrate and demonise than to actually listen. For workers and families, it is about the cost of getting to work and keeping the light and heat on. I have heard from disabled people, home care workers, health workers, apprentices and students who are all suffering. What do we see from the Government benches today? We see self-congratulations and back-slapping. Government TDs are telling everyone and anyone who will listen just how great the Government is and how well it is doing.”
“This is the Government’s second attempt, and once again, it has come up short. Last month, it was half measures. This month, it is just more of the same. Petrol and diesel are still on course to exceed record highs and home heating oil remains completely untouched. Across Waterford and the rest of the State, the reality is dark. Green diesel has nearly doubled in price in a matter of weeks, rising from 97 cent a litre in February to €1.80. For farmers, fishers, hauliers and small businesses, fuel is not optional. It is a core cost of them staying in business.”
“The Government survived a vote today but the Minister of State should not kid himself - public confidence has not been restored. The Government limped through, shedding some of its own along the way. People will draw their own conclusions about the motivations behind those changes of heart. What is clear is that the outcome of today does absolutely nothing to change the reality that workers, families and businesses across the State are facing. People have lost confidence because this Government is not listening and has not listened. It has failed to act in any meaningful way on the fuel cost crisis hitting households. The Government still has not taken necessary steps to make fuel affordable at the pumps and has done nothing on home heating oil despite it reaching the highest prices on record.”
“We have the community recognition fund, for example, and many great things have come from that scheme, but there is no similar scheme to address the enterprise loss or the difficulties that have been experienced because of the loss of tourist accommodation. Perhaps it could be a conversation worth having between the Minister and the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, to see if a similar scheme could operate on that basis that would somehow support this tourist accommodation coming back on stream when possible to do so, and that there would be some recognition for those tourism operators and people operating in that space who have lost business over the last years.”
“The Minister is right that the attractions are there. The greenways are of really high standard and the greenway in Waterford is a classic example. Unfortunately, the availability of tourist accommodation has not kept pace. On top of that we also see the use of tourist accommodation, and particularly hotels, for the State's responses to the various refugee crisis over the years. The Minister for justice has signalled a move away from that approach in the coming time. There is a concern, however, that many of the hotels that have been used will not return to tourist accommodation. There are examples of that in Dungarvan and in other areas. There has also been no recognition for the economic impact of the loss of tourist accommodation.”
“The move to short-term lets because of the absence of suitable hotel accommodation in many areas is having a disproportionate impact on those rural and coastal communities that are already under huge housing pressure. I am thinking of Gaeltacht areas such as Ardmore in my constituency. The measures that were announced a number of weeks ago to address the mushrooming of short-term lettings do not cater for towns such as Dungarvan and Tramore that are under the 20,000 threshold. We need to see action on this. I welcome that there is an understanding of the seriousness of the situation but we need to see action.”
“It is very welcome that this issue is under consideration and forms part of the Minister's engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. This issue is impacting rural communities in particular. The lack of tourist accommodation, be it hotel, hostel accommodation or other kinds of accommodation such as glamping pods, is hampering economic development and economic diversification in rural areas that come under the remit of the Minister. It is also adding to the rural housing crisis that is of concern for many Departments. It is of concern to all of us here in the House but it has a particular resonance with the Minister's responsibilities.”
“They receive no core funding to implement those programmes, so they are already pinned to their collars in terms of overheads and costs to keep themselves running. It is putting those programmes and the myriad of other schemes, projects and programmes they operate in real jeopardy.”
“Some 750,000 people are dependent on home heating oil. Many hundreds of thousands of families are already in significant energy arrears with bills. People are going cold and rationing heat and electricity in their own homes because of the wider cost-of-living crisis that existed before the war against Iran. This is the reality the proposals and the measures are not tackling and not facing up to. Nobody would criticise €152 extra paid out over four weeks to bring people up to May but it is not nearly enough. It does not address all those not receiving fuel allowance who are struggling and does not come anywhere near addressing the huge backlogs and arrears that people are in. We need to see more action. On the community civil society organisations, many are already struggling. I was talking to SICAP and LEADER companies yesterday.”
“The fact home heating oil was not included in that package of measures in any meaningful sense has left people agog and deeply disappointed as well as angry. I will put an additional question to the Minister. Will the fairly mean extension of the fuel allowance be paid out as a lump sum or will that be paid out on a weekly basis? People really want to know if that will be cause for intervention in a meaningful way in their lives.”
“On the package of measures announced this week, the general consensus among the public, and certainly on this side of the House, was that it was much too late and far too little. It does not go anywhere near the kind of intervention needed in our society at present, in light of the current crisis and illegal war in the Middle East and the ensuing increase in fuel and energy costs but also in light of the broader context of increasing energy poverty and an increasing cost-of-living crisis. It does precious little for households across the State but many of these crises are being felt particularly in rural communities. The dependence on diesel and petrol for transport is more pronounced in many of these communities, and there is a particular dependence on home heating oil in rural communities.”
“Tá mé ag tógáil na ceiste seo thar ceann an Teachta O’Reilly. I am taking this question for Deputy Louise O'Reilly. It is to ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the way in which he intends to assist rural communities, both households and local civil society organisations, amidst rising oil prices and general trends indicating a rise in energy poverty, and if he will make a statement on the matter.”
“We have heard some of the stories. Some of us engage with our constituents in constituency offices and clinics. I know it might be uncomfortable for some people on the opposite side to do that from time to time but those of us who engage and listen hear those stories every day. I am not talking about the Minister but many of his colleagues do not operate clinics or offices. The Government could have removed excise on home heating oil and delivered real relief but once again chose not to act. This crisis is hitting those who produce in our economy. Fishermen and other primary producers face soaring fuel costs without any meaningful support. The impact spreads through coastal and rural communities. When coastal and rural enterprises are squeezed, their local economies suffer. It is kicking a sector when it is already down.”
“The cost of a fill has surged to between €1,600 and €1,800, depending on what day it is and where in the country you live. The Government's response has been tokenistic: a short fuel allowance extension that will be wiped out by rising prices and a measly 2 cent reduction on heating oil. The Taoiseach's response yesterday during Leaders' Questions was illustrative when he joked that it is okay because it will be May soon. People are in energy arrears and are struggling to heat their homes. There are cold snaps at the end of March and people rely on home heating oil for hot water, including people looking after older or unwell family members at home. It is not good enough for the Government and the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, to make jokes about these things. Energy poverty and child poverty are growing and people are rationing heat.”
“While Government backbenchers might not wish to acknowledge it, workers and families are being hammered under the watch of this Government. Petrol and diesel prices are rising sharply and the Government response is too late and nowhere near strong enough. Households are already stretched and we see it not just in energy but across the board: food costs and school costs are up. The costs of getting to work, doing the school run, caring for family and just living in rural Ireland are increasing. The Government has choices and it chose not to deliver the maximum fuel cuts available. What we saw last night was meanness laid bare - too late, stingy, divorced from reality and frankly insulting. Over 750,000 households rely on home heating oil and they are being left behind.”
“I understand the limitations on the Minister's ability to intervene but, if the Department is to be neutral in disputes, it should be fully neutral and not hold farmers over a barrel looking for this commonage letter while these disputes are ongoing.”
“It is on the topic of stability and certainty in farm payments. I want to raise the issue of hill farmers on the Knockmealdown Mountains in County Waterford. They are currently in dispute with a landlord over exorbitant rent increases. I know the Minister will not intervene but the Department has effectively taken a side in an ongoing dispute here in holding these farmers over a barrel because no farm payments are being issued while the dispute goes on because of the requirement to provide a commonage-evidence letter. This is effectively the State siding with the landlord. These farmers rely on that farm payment. They farm other lands as well as the ones that are in dispute. This has echoes of darker times in our history when absentee landlords pushed farmers off the land. The Department needs to take a realistic look at this.”
“The result is that fishermen all around our coastline, including in the Minister of State's county and my county, are tying their boats to the wall because they cannot go out to sea. The coastal communities that do not have the ability to fish do not want handouts, supports or lectures about heritage and how great they are. They want to get out and fish. Meanwhile, these corporations are allowed to do what they want in our waters, in the waters of other EU member states and, indeed, in the waters of third states. My question to the Minister of State is really simple. Will he and the Taoiseach take a strong line on vindicating our sovereignty and ensuring these companies are not laughing at us all the way to the bank?”
“At its core, this issue is about sovereignty, fairness and the very survival of our coastal communities. Everybody knows who these corporations are. There are published reports and investigative reports. There is clear evidence of the scale of their control and influence. They wield more control than does a sovereign member state of the EU. Previous Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Administrations ceded sovereignty over our territorial waters to the European Union and now the Union is looking us in the face and regifting it to corporations that are running rings around us and laughing at us all the way to the bank. Their well-placed lobbyists are doing better than we are in quota negotiations.”
“The Government must accept that EU fishing policy is being distorted by this reality. It warrants more than just self-congratulations and pointing to the small concession Ireland received from the European Union.”
“At the same time, as the Minister of State knows, these same interests are operating in non-EU waters, including off Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway, often in contexts where there are serious concerns about overfishing of our shared stocks in the north Atlantic, particularly in the pelagic sector. In effect, these corporations are ag imirt an dá thaobh. They are playing both sides of the system, influencing policy here while maximising profits everywhere. Meanwhile, Irish fishermen are tying their boats to the harbour wall and coastal communities are being hollowed out. The Minister of State knows this as he has travelled to meet with them. We have a minuscule and utterly disproportionate share of quota in our own territorial waters. It is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.”
“The reality is there is an oligopoly at the heart of European fisheries. If the Government will not name the problem, others will. I am prepared to do so here under parliamentary privilege. I refer to the so-called big five Dutch-based corporations, namely, Parlevliet & van der Plas, Cornelis Vrolijk, Van der Zwan, Alda Seafood and the De Boer family. Between them, they control an extraordinary share - almost 20% - of EU fishing effort. One in six fish caught in EU waters across the entire European Union is caught by one of these outfits. The actual number is likely much more; that is only what we know about. They exercise this control through use of a corporate maze, with vessels flagged across multiple member states and ownership structures that make meaningful transparency almost impossible.”
“I am putting this question on behalf of my colleague Deputy Mac Lochlainn. Five Dutch corporations now control more EU fishing quota than do entire sovereign states, including island nations like ours. They also clearly wield significantly more influence than member states when it comes to quota negotiations. The outcome of the December Council meeting showed that to be true. These five corporations operate across multiple jurisdictions through complex ownership structures and operate fleets under the flags of both EU and non-EU member states. Does the Minister accept there is a serious concentration of control here, a conflict of interest and a real concern about corporate influence distorting EU fisheries policy?”
“At the very least, sit down with them and hear the impact of their stories. Let us work to get a resolution for these men.”
“The Minister and the Government have legal advice that says they can just sit on their hands and let this injustice continue. This comes down to a political decision. It comes down to a choice of values and a matter of justice. The Minister has a political decision to either sit on his hands or meet these workers halfway and make a reasonable attempt to resolve this issue. Birthdays come around every year and time is not on the side of these former Waterford Crystal workers. In the last line of the Minister’s response, he state: I do not [believe] a meeting is warranted. I [trust] this clarifies the matter for [the Deputy]." It is crystal clear, in the last line of his response outlining that a meeting is not warranted, that he is refusing to meet with this group of workers who have suffered an injustice.”
“The Minister stated in his response: "The question regarding the provision of leaving service options is one for the employer and the trustees, rather than the State." The first part of the sentence is true. At the time these workers were made redundant, it was incumbent on the employer and the trustees to provide full information. The State, however, has a role in vindicating rights and ensuring compliance with not just the letter but the spirit of the law. It must ensure, in instances where there is a difference in power, such as a large multinational company making workers in Waterford redundant, that it is on the side of the workers and that there is fair play. Fairness and justice were not applied here. That happened on the State’s watch and that of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.”
“For decades, these men have been ignored and the injustice of what was done to them explained away. The goalposts shifted, with previous Ministers saying one thing and Ministers of State on local radio saying another, while responses to parliamentary questions said another thing entirely. That is not good enough. I implore the Minister to meet these men, hear them out and do everything he can, with his officials, to work on a solution that will give them some comfort and justice as they finish their retirement.”
“Whatever way we cut it, and whatever happened in the early nineties, the State had, and has, a duty to protect its citizens, underwrite fairness, guarantee justice and ensure rights are upheld. When workers are made redundant, through no fault of their own, they must have the ability to make decisions with information. Informed consent is at the core of everything. These workers did not get that and, instead of fixing it, the Government is washing its hands and ignoring them. It is not good enough and it needs to be resolved. Critically, these men want to meet with the Minister so that he can hear their story about the injustice done to them and how it has impacted their lives. Following that, they want him to resolve it. That is where he can make the difference.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a bheith anseo anocht chun an cheist seo a phlé. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, set out the position in his contribution. He and I met with this group of former Waterford Crystal workers just last week. To be honest, they are worn out by this. They have been at it for years. They have had years of being fobbed off. These are decent, hardworking men. They worked hard and honestly for Waterford Crystal. They were made redundant. They were kept in the dark at that time about their options. In fact, they were never told about their options. That failure to inform them has cost them real money and it is money that would have made a real difference in their lives up until now. If this is resolved, that money could make a very real difference to their lives. Time is not on the side of these individuals.”
“The last front-facing, public-facing State service in my community, a Gaeltacht community in west Waterford in An Rinn, closed last year because the postmistress who had given decades of service to the community was retiring, as she was entitled to do. It did not make financial sense for anybody to take up that contract and I raised this with Government many times last year. They would have lost money in the bargain. That is the problem. Twee stories and appeals to nostalgia are not going to cut it. We need action, and we need the Government to wake up and smell the coffee on this issue.”
“The current An Post system fails to attract new postmasters, it fails to keep them in their jobs and it leads to permanent closures when somebody retires. We want to introduce a public service mandate with State investment to modernise contracts, expand services like banking and digital hubs and incentivise new postmasters. That is what we need. That is what a modern, vibrant, living post office looks like. It is encouraging new entrants in and keeping them there. Ba é an oifig an phoist áitiúil an tseirbhís Stáit dheireanach a bhí ar fáil i mo cheantar féin i nGaeltacht na nDéise. Dúnadh an bhliain seo caite é nuair a d'éirigh an postmistress as a post. Ní raibh an Rialtas, an Roinn nó aon Roinn Stáit sásta aon rud a dhéanamh chun duine nua a mhealladh isteach.”