Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution, although two minutes is hardly sufficient for all the points I wish to raise. No one has to remind me of how vital our post office network is to communities. I see it daily in the rural area in which I live. In fact, the post office is one of the critical building blocks of our communities.

It is where people do their personal business and meet and greet one another. It is of vital importance for small, rural, isolated communities that have no public transport. It provides a service for elderly people, who are so often forgotten in modern society now, for those who cannot find employment and for members of society in general. We simply cannot do without this service in rural Ireland.

Like all companies, An Post has faced many challenges in recent times. We should be able to examine those challenges together. An Post cannot rely solely on Government business. It must be able to look at securing new revenue streams based on services that could be offered, for example in areas like passport applications, local property tax payments and banking facilities. Post offices can do much more. It has been estimated that if An Post were given the power to issue motor tax certificates, it could save the Exchequer more than €60 million over five years.

I was glad to hear my coalition colleague say the Government does not have an agenda of deliberately closing post offices. As a Deputy for Carlow-Kilkenny, I am fully committed to the post office network. I am glad to put it on the Dáil record that I am behind our post offices. I have to say from this side of the House that the Labour Party has been extremely conscious of the needs of the post office network. I look forward to seeing what our Fine Gael Ministers will bring to the table to ensure there is a sustainable post office network into the future.

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