Government ‘must intervene’ to save An Rinn Gealtacht Post Office in Waterford
Paidí Breathnach local Spar owner with Matt Shanahan TD outside the closing Post Office in An Rinn, Baile Na nDéise
Independent Waterford TD Matt Shanahan has called on the Government to intervene and save in An Rinn, the only remaining post office in Gaeltacht na nDéise.
Following the retirement of long-serving postmistress Máire Breathnach, the Post Office is set to close on Tuesday, April 30, even though another business owner in the community has offered to take over the vital community service.
“The garda barracks shuttered recently, we've lost the community doctor and now the post office is closing because the figures discussed with a potential new operator do not add up,” Deputy Shanahan said.
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“An Post are offering Mr Páidí Breathnach, who runs the local Spar shop just €21,000 to run the service along with a diminishing state support fee for the year, which wouldn’t come close to covering insurance, rates, utilities, training, IT and part-time staff, and that’s before An Post charge €45,000 for fitting out the Post Office.”
Deputy Shanahan says that the Government, and in particular Údarás na Gaeltachta have failed in their duty of “fostering enterprise development and employment and supporting the Gaeltacht community in Waterford.”
“This region it appears has not received financial support from Údarás na Gaeltachta since 2019 so they need to put their money where their mouth is now as a matter of urgency,” Deputy Shanahan continued.
“We cannot allow another vital community service to disappear. Gaelscoileanna and the gaelcholáistí are doing fantastic work in Waterford city and county but it’s imperative that we hold the language in its native Gaeltacht community and community services like the Post Office are at the heart of that.”
Deputy Shanahan says he will engage with “whomever it takes” in Government, over the coming days, in particular Minister Catherine Martin’s Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media so that a potential new operator for the Post Office can be facilitated with a viable contract.
