Danny Healy-Rae: Warns Bank Closures Hit Rural Ireland
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about the loss of services in rural Ireland, warning that bank closures, post office losses and pub closures are hollowing out communities. He criticised the 2040 plan as prioritising five big cities and urged ministers and backbenchers to press the Taoiseach and banks to act to protect rural services.
Loss of rural services
Danny Healy-Rae listed disappearing services in rural areas - banks leaving, post offices gone and pubs nearly closed - saying there will be little left for local communities.
Local examples and travel burdens
He cited local place names from rural Kerry and surrounding areas, including Sean O'Ree, Lincar, Derne Fane, the Black Valley, Killaritan, North Kerry, Tralee, Castle Island and Abbey Field, and warned residents now face long day trips to reach the nearest bank.
Critique of the 2040 plan
He argued the 2040 plan is geared towards the five big cities, with planning, housing, money and infrastructure focused on urban centres and rural Ireland being forgotten.
Comparison with Dublin
He contrasted rural access with Dublin, saying that in the city someone can walk ten minutes and find multiple banks, a difference he called a "massive difference" for rural communities.
Appeal to ministers, banks and backbenchers
He challenged the minister to use influence - mentioning a share in the Bank of Ireland and the need to sit down and negotiate with the bank - and told Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers to call ministers and the Taoiseach inside party rooms to say rural provision is not good enough.
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Thank you very much, Lasky Ongcourle. Well, there isn't going to be much left in rural Ireland now. The banks are going, the post offices are gone, most of the pubs are nearly closed, so there isn't going to be much left. And it's like the 2040 plan, where everything is geared towards the five big cities, planning, housing, money and all kinds of infrastructure, and forget about rural Ireland. It is a fact, Minister, and it will have to be recognised. If you're in a place like Sean O'Ree, in Lincar, or Derne Fane, or the Black Valley, and your bank closes down in Killaritan, where are you to go then? Likewise, in North Kerry, where Tralee, Castle Island, and Abbey Field, because the people of Nakhifwekan, and Miniginera, and Brustle, where you stay, go to, only to Abbey Field. So, they have massive distances to travel now, and you can put them places into your computer, see where you are in the Ine Valley, where is the nearest bank of Ireland, to take a day to go, and to come home out of it, for the nearest bank that will be left. You have a role to play a minister. The people are entitled to services. Like I said, the people in rural Ireland are entitled to the same services as the people in Dublin for. And I had one deputy here saying that it is going to impact in Dublin as well. But when we'll take a walk around the streets in Dublin, ten minutes, and we'll go to three or four different banks. That's a massive difference to what they set up in rural areas. And I'm asking you to realize what you're doing. You have a share. You have a share in the Bank of Ireland. Surely you can demand and sit down with them and talk to them. And I want to say to the backbenchers, I've got much respect for the backbenchers of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, but I'm sorry to say, not here in the chamber. He'll have to call her ministers. He'll have to call her Taoiseach inside the party rooms and tell them that this is not good enough. That this is not good enough for rural Ireland. I'm sorry for anyone's time. Deputy Michael Collins.
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