Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate and commend Deputy Seamus Healy on his foresight in tabling this motion. I thank my Government colleague, Deputy Eamonn Maloney, who is unavoidably absent, for giving me his time. Setting aside the motion and the amendment, there is an opportunity to harness the goodwill that exists to deliver a viable future for the post office network. The ideas coming forward in this debate are worth taking on board in that context.

The renewal of the social welfare contract, worth €9 billion in 2014 via 40 million transactions, is perhaps the most significant source of revenue for An Post and, as such, is very welcome. However, while signing the contract is important, it is equally important to ensure neither An Post, by virtue of reductions in the fee per transaction to individual postmasters, nor the Department of Social Protection is allowed to diminish in any way our commitment to the post office network by encouraging social welfare recipients to choose an alternative form of payment. That requires administrative vigilance and I hope the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, will follow up on the issue.

To be clear, there is no Government agenda to close the post office network. My colleague, Deputy Michael Moynihan, referred last night to Mweelin and Ballingeary in my own constituency. Those closures are undoubtedly a setback for the communities concerned. However, an examination of the statistics is interesting. We see, for example, that between 2006 and 2010, 197 post offices closed, but there have been only 17 closures in recent years. That is 17 too many, but it certainly does not represent an acceleration in closures under the Government. In fact, it is to the credit of this Administration that the programme for Government includes a commitment to safeguarding the viability of post offices. The social welfare contract is an important element of that endeavour, but it is not the only area in which action can and has been taken. To the Sinn Féin Members who have spoken about supporting the post office network, I would suggest that they encourage their supporters to pay the property tax through the post office network. Banks such as AIB have taken steps to allow people to conduct transactions through post offices. Bill payments, passport applications, Garda fines and gun licence applications can all be transacted through the post office.

My final point may be somewhat controversial in that it highlights the onus on communities to play their part in securing the viability of local post offices. In my constituency office I help people fill out social welfare application forms and it is disappointing to see a substantial number of them opt to have their payments go to a post office other than their immediately local office. I have been on the front line at a public meeting where there was a great deal of anger about the closure of Ballingeary post office, yet many of the people articulating that anger did not conduct their transactions in their local post offices. The Government has a significant role to play, but communities also can do a great deal. We must harness our efforts at both ends to ensure the network survives and prospers into the future.

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