Bishop urges Govt to address ‘impoverished rural Ireland’

Bishop Fintan Monahan of Killaloe has appealed to Government and others in positions of leadership to “maintain rural life”.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week as An Post signalled that a major wave of post office closures is possible, Bishop Monahan said the “impoverishment of rural Ireland” remains a big issue of concern for communities and he urged leaders to “try and make a preferential option for maintaining the quality of rural life even if it doesn’t seem to make strict logical sense from the financial point of view”.

Forced to deal with the issue of priest shortages, just as in other Irish dioceses, Bishop Monahan said this had prompted conversations within his own diocese of this “hot on the heels of Garda stations, post offices, shops, pubs and various other services being shut down”.

He added: “Several GAA clubs and other sports are struggling to field teams as so many of the young active people have moved to more urban environments or have emigrated.”

The cumulative effect, Bishop Monahan said, is an increasing “sense of isolation, loneliness and fear for the future of rural communities”.

Insisting that the Church in Killaloe is playing its part, Bishop Monahan said that the clergy of the diocese remain committed “to the rural and more remote areas as much as possible with the small numbers available”.

Bishop Monahan’s words were prompted by those of An Post Retail Operations Manager, John Daly this week, who said that sustainability was a key concern in deciding the futures of at least 500 post offices. 

Rural woes

He indicated that An Post needs only to retain 600 of its 1,131 outlets nationwide to meet Department of Social Protection obligations.

Adding to rural woes, it also emerged this week that serious delays in Rural Development Programme payments meant that just 52% of this year’s allocation had been paid out so far. 

In a statement on the underspend, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Agriculture Charlie McConalogue urged Government to “not leave farmers in the lurch” on badly needed funds. 

“Many farmers have had to take out loans to keep their businesses going while they wait for their payments to come through, and these delays will exacerbate an already difficult situation,” he said.