Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I fully appreciate what Deputy Heather Humphreys has said. Unfortunately, however, the way the world is, more and more business is being done online. There was a time when, if one wanted to buy an airline ticket, one went to a travel agency but very few do so now. Such tickets are bought online and that is the way of the world. Looking at the horizon, God knows what will be available via the Internet in 20 years' time. We need to proceed in this way, otherwise if we exclude Internet transactions, we will guarantee making the current lotto obsolete. While being mindful of that, we do need countervailing proposals which is why we have a minimum number of retailers and we have maintained the retail margin. There will still be people who, as part of their normal business, will want to buy a lotto ticket as well. It will be part of the suite of services available in shops.

This week, I had a meeting with the postmasters' association. It is very proactive in looking at a whole range of measures that rural post offices, in particular, might be able to provide. For example, as high street banks deplete and retrench, more banking will be done through local post offices. We should also be seeking to provide a number of State services through post offices. Some people baulked at some Garda provisions being provided, such as checking documentation. One can already apply for a passport through the post office, however, so there is no reason why other secure activities could not also be done there. We need to be forward looking in what we can provide to address the very real points made by Deputy Heather Humphreys.