A group of community activists from Gweedore are planning a protest in Letterkenny in a bid to save their local post offices.
The campaigners are bringing their action to Letterkenny on Saturday 8th December after local protests failed to save several services in West Donegal.
The protest will be staged at the main Letterkenny Post Office at 11am.
Independent Councillor Mícheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig said that it was intolerable for any community to put up with what An Post is doing to rural Donegal at the moment.
He said: “We have already lost four post offices in Burtonport, Dunfanaghy, Gort a’ Choirce and An Bun Beag and we are awaiting the result of a review of the decision to close the post office in Bun na Leaca.
“On other areas, like Churchill, Quigley’s Point, Ballymagen, Ballyliffin, Burnfoot, Culdaff, Culkeeny, Dunaff, Dunkineely, Kildrum, Meenaneary and Rossnakill, post offices are either closing down or are threatened with imminent closure. This is death by a thousand cuts.”
Mac Giolla Easbuig says the post office issue is just a symptom of a ‘greater disease’ affecting the whole county, and rural areas in particular.
He said: “Since the foundation of the State, successive governments led by both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, have starved Donegal of infrastructure such as hospitals, railways, motorways, broadband and proper electrical and gas networks.
“Some rural areas become inaccessible during the winter because of lack of funding to the County Council. The list is endless.
“It is time communities came out and took a stand and fight for their survival because government policies are killing communities throughout rural areas, not just in Donegal, but throughout the country.”
“We were advised by establishment politicians that the only way to fight post office closures was to make submissions to the review body. This approach has patently failed and it is now left to the communities to fight their own cause.”
Mac Giolla Easbuig added that people from other rural areas will be welcome to join campaigners from Gweedore on 8th December.
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