Volunteers who provide a vital service through the community cafe initiative need to be supported by the Department of Social Protection.
Cafes have popped up at points across the country, including in Carlow and Kilkenny, as a way of tackling rural isolation and loneliness.
Ireland South MEP and local woman Cynthia Ni Mhurchu is asking the Government to provide financial assistance to these grassroot organisations.
She says the cafe’s fill a vital gap caused by the closure of rural pubs and post-offices, noting; “They’re running this through a system of volunteers and we can’t keep asking volunteers to do more and more and more if they’re not getting assistance with regards to some of their costs so that we can ensure that rural Ireland has a future, it has a present at the moment, but we can’t continuously depend on volunteers”.
