Leading Sinn Fein politicians Martin Ferris TD and Senator Trevor O Clochartaigh will visit Donegal on Monday as part of their party’s push to protect rural Ireland.
Speaking in advance of the visit on Monday, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty said the group will engage with various groups, representative of rural communities, as part of Sinn Féin’s Love Rural Ireland Campaign.
“Rural Ireland is under attack. The policies of austerity are stripping local communities of essential services – of schools, of guidance counsellors, hospitals, post-offices and Garda stations. It is also adding new stealth taxes like the Universal Social Charge, the Family Home Tax, VAT increases, motor tax increases and septic tank charges.
“Donegal has, time and time again, topped the tables in terms of disadvantage but instead of allocating resources to address this problem, this Government has chosen to implement bad policy leading to the steady erosion of basic services in the county,” he said.
The Donegal South West Deputy said businesses, shops and pubs in rural towns and villages are closing while small indigenous businesses, including small farmers, with no real support from the government or credit from the banks, are going under.
“All of this and the absence of equality of access to public services threatens the quality of life of people living in rural Ireland.
“Our campaign is about engaging with the sectors that have been hit hardest as a result of the Government’s anti-rural agenda with a view to developing a Rural Development plan, which will provide a framework for the development and sustainability of rural communities.
“As part of the day’s engagements, there will be a public meeting held in the Yard in Falcarragh at 8pm and I would encourage individuals and community representatives interested in the issues affecting rural communities to attend.”
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